The Thespians of Bullworth
by lilcorman119
Summary: Adding another group to the never ending dog-eat-dog world of Bully. Say hello to the Thespians, because no school is complete without a group of theater nerds. If there are any grammar errors, I do apologize. Most of the time when I am working on my stories, it is late at night and words start to blend together. Word can only catch so many mistakes. Enjoy!
1. Chapter 1

Devin stared out the window as the car rolled along down the road. He didn't want to change schools, nor did he want to deal with the constant harassment of bullies. Sure, school was hard for him but he still had friends to hang out with and keep him company through it all. Devin could only take so much though, and with the school not doing anything to help him, he took matters into his own hands. One kid said the wrong thing on the wrong day, and Devin snapped. Two knock-outs later and Devin found himself in the principal's office while his parents were called. His parents knew about everything happening at school and decided the best thing to do would be to take Devin to a new school. They knew it would be hard for him, but it was going to be better than him getting expelled from school for fighting to defend himself.

"Where is it that you are taking me again?" Devin asked his parents as he pulled his eyes away from the depressing scenery outside. It was cold, wet, and windy. Devin preferred it because the weather was just as miserable as him, and he shouldn't have to be miserable alone.

"It's a school called Bullworth Academy" his mom said in a rather cheery voice. His mother was ever the optimist. Even when her marriage was falling apart a few years back, she never lost faith and kept positive about it. Luckily, her and her husband came to an understanding and were able to work everything out, so in the end it would seem that her optimism worked out.

"You're not going to have anything to worry about sport" his father added in. God how he hated being called sport. His dad had started calling him that when he was younger and playing sports. Apparently, as a child he felt proud to be called that by his father, but now-a-days it seemed more like a horrible pet name.

"Well, whatever. I'm sure it'll be just as bad as my last school. The only difference is I actually had friends at the last one" Devin groaned out as he turned his attention back out the car window. His mother shared a look with his father. His father could read her expressions easily and knew she was worried and thinking if what they were doing was the right thing. Instead of giving her a verbal response, he grabbed her hand and gave it a squeeze to reassure her that this was the best thing for their son. He may have had friends back at his old school, but he was never going to find true happiness there because there wasn't going to be anyone there to love him. To be rather straightforward, no one in their town was gay except for Devin, and they wanted their son to experience everything life had to offer. He was never going to get that experience being cooped up in a backwater town like theirs.

As they pulled up to the front gates of Bullworth Academy, Devin got out of the car and grabbed his bags. He was pulled into a hug by his mother who kissed him on the cheek and wished him good luck. His father decided on a handshake which made Devin smile. He wasn't too crazy about the overt affection his mother gave, and knew his father could be just as bad. He shook his Dad's hand and watched them get into the car before driving away. He picked up his bags and turned around to see a woman standing there at the gate waiting to greet him.

"I'll take it that you are Devin?" The woman asked while looking down at him.

"You would be correct" Devin responded.

"Call me Miss. Danvers, and please do hurry, I have to get back to my office and make sure that Mr. Crabblesnitch doesn't need me for anything."

"Mr. Who?" Devin asked not sure if he heard her right.

"Mr. Crabblesnitch, and it would be wise of you to remember that name because he is the head master of Bullworth Academy. If you so much as one mistake, that is who you will be reporting to." With that Miss Danvers started heading back towards the school with Devin following close behind her. "Over there is the boy's dorm," she stated while pointing to the left, "it would be wise if you head their now and change into the school uniform before coming to the office."

Devin thanked her and started to walk away while hearing her complain about having to get another boy later on in the day. He made his way up the steps and was about to open the door when two kids came running out after each other. They knocked him down and caused him to drop his stuff.

"Leave me alone already Ethan" the tall black kid said to the other who was chasing him.

"You started this nerd" the kid chasing him who Devin realized was most likely Ethan. Ethan continued to chase the taller boy around until he eventually caught him. The taller boy struggled against Ethan as Ethan reached back and started to give him a wedgie. Devin started picking his bags back up and wanted to get inside as quickly as possibly when he heard a loud yell and turned around to see Ethan get tackled by an adult. Devin quickly made his way into the dorm and to his room where he finally put all his bags down.

' _Not even here a full day and I already see that this is going to be difficult_ ' Devin thought to himself as he started to take care of his clothes and put some of his notebooks on his desk. He opened the closet to hang up a few things when he yelled and jumped back. Another boy slowly worked his way out of his closet and thanked him for getting him out of there.

"How the hell did you get in there, and how long have you been in there?" Devin asked as he grabbed at his chest, scared that his heart would beat out of his chest and land on the floor.

"One of the bully's snuck up on me and shoved me in then locked the door. I was in there for a couple of hours. Happens all the time, so I guess I'm used to it" the kid responded as he held out his hand. "The name's Fatty"

"Devin, is that really your name?" Devin responded as he shook hands with Fatty.

"It's what everyone around here calls me, and I don't really mind. Well I hope to see you around" Fatty said as he took off out the door. Devin watched as the boy left and just shook his head in disbelief. ' _Out of the pot and into the frying pan. Where did you guys send me_ ' Devin thought as he wished his parents had actually brought him here to see what it was like before sending him here.

After he had finished putting his clothes away, Devin changed into his school uniform and gave himself a once over in the mirror that was in his room. Not as bad as it could be, but still not as good as being able to wear whatever you wanted. He decided it was time to make his way to the head master's office. Along the way he ended up passing a rugged looking boy in a brown jacket that had anger written all over his face. He kept heading towards the office and was once again greeted by Miss Danvers.

"How nice of you to finally get here" she said rather sarcastically when she saw Davin approach.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I was too busy trying to get another one of your students unstuffed from my closet so I could take care of thing" Devin snapped back not appreciating her sarcastic tone.

"Regardless, that is none of my problem. You should be happy the head master is still here to talk to you" Miss Danvers said as she left to go and get Mr. Crabblesnitch. When Miss Danvers reappeared, Mr. Crabblesnitch was right behind her and welcome Devin into his office. They sat down and had a talk about the rules that he was expected to follow, how they had prefects that monitored the halls and the grounds, and when his classes would be. They also briefly discussed the incident that took place at his old school, in which Mr. Crabblesnitch warned Devin that they do not condone such activities on school grounds. Devin thought back to what had happened earlier between Ethan and that other boy and just simply nodded his head to everything Mr. Crabblesnitch was saying. It's what he would want anyway.

With the drag of the first day excitement finally over, Devin headed back to the boy's dorm and noticed that a group of kids in white shirts were all hanging out around the front entrance. He noticed that one of them seem to have taken a beating, before heading inside to go to his room. As he passed the main living area, he saw that same boy, who was wearing the brown jacket, now wearing the same school uniform as him and talking to two other boys. Devin made his way into his room and decided to check his schedule. According to the sheet that he was given in the office, he had English tomorrow in the morning and he had Art in the afternoon. He started to put together his supplies for his classes when he heard a knock on his door.

"Hey there" the boy said as he hesitantly entered his room.

"Hi" Devin replied not bothering to look at who it was.

"I just wanted to come and introduce myself. My name is…" but the boy was cut off as Devin heard another boy enter his room.

"Petey, Petey, Petey… You can't just barge into everyone's room and introduce yourself. You catch one of them while they're changing, but I bet you'd like that" the guy said as he harassed the other kid.

"Knock it off Gary. I'm just trying to say hello to the other new kid" Petey whined trying to get away from the other boy. At this point Devin had turned around and looked to see who these boys were and instantly could tell who Petey was, and who Gary was. Devin decided to disregard Gary as if he wasn't even in the room and walked up to Petey.

"Nice to meet you Petey," he said as he grabbed Petey's hand and shook it, "the name's Devin." Petey gave Devin a smile and let him know that he was happy to make his acquaintance.

"Well isn't this just a love story just waiting to happen. God, it makes me sick" Gary spat out as he looked at Petey and Devin.

"Shut up Gary" Petey said getting anger at the boy.

"Look at little Petey, feeling like he's a tough guy because someone actually said hello back" Gary ridiculed him as he started to push the boy.

"Hey asshole," Devin said rather harshly, "last I checked I didn't say you could be in my room, so how about you get out of here before I make you get out." Gary whirled around and looked at Devin with a cold and piercing stare. He couldn't believe that anyone had the audacity to speak to him in such a way. He didn't like it one bit.

"Oh, I'm so sorry to disturb you your highness. Please let me get out of the way so you and your lover can share the room" Gary said sarcastically with a bit of resentment before leaving Devin's room.

"You shouldn't have done that" Petey warned as he watched Gary head down the hall to his room.

"I don't care what I should have or shouldn't have done. I wasn't going to stand here and let him push you around when you're a guest in my room" Devin responded as he headed back over to his desk.

"Thanks, but I think I'm going to head back to my room for the night. It was nice meeting you Devin" Petey said before he slipped out. He didn't even give Devin a chance to say good night back. Devin started to rub his eyes as he started to get a little sleepy. He decided to call it a night and crawled into his bed. He made sure to set his alarm clock for eight so that he would make it to his first class at nine. As he laid there he thought about how classes hadn't technically even started yet and he already had a possibly enemy. If that's what it meant sticking up for a fellow student, then so be it. Devin decided right then and there that he wasn't going to put up with any shit, and he would deal with the consequences as they came.

Devin woke to the shrill sound of his alarm. He groaned and turned it off before rolling out of bed. He got dressed in his school uniform and headed towards his first class. As much as he wanted to sit around and relax, he knew that he was going to have to find his way around. He obviously knew where the boy's dorm was, as well as the head master's office, but that was about it. As he entered the school, he was surprised to see so many students already awake and moving about. He decided to make his way around until he came across a door that had the word English next to it. He entered it and noticed that there were only a few students there.

He grabbed a seat next to the window and looked at his watch. It read eight twenty, which meant he still had another forty minutes before class started. He decided to look around the room and was spooked when he saw that someone was sitting right next to him. It was a girl with piercing green eyes and black hair with purple high lights. She had make-up on that gave her that smoky0eye look that made her green eyes pop out even more. She was wearing purple lip stick and was blowing a bubble when Devin first looked over at his.

"Who are you?" She asked as she pulled her gum back into her mouth.

"The names Devin" he replied as he gave her a faint smile.

"Haven't seen you around here before, which means you must be new" she said with another pop of her gum.

"Just got here yesterday and got the whole run down of what to expect" Devin told her as he shook his head remembering how agonizing that talk with the head master was.

"I understand you pain. The name's AmyLee" she said as she extended out her hand showing Devin his black nails with skulls on them.

"Nice to meet you. So aside from AmyLee, who are you?" Devin asked as he shook her hand. He honestly was getting sick and tired and shaking so many people's hands.

"Just call me your new bestfriend" AmyLee said with a smile before winking at Devin. This in turned caused Devin to blush and laugh a little.

"You're quite aggressive in your own way" Devin stated while laughing a little.

"I hope that's not a problem because it's my way or the highway" she responded as she put her feet up on her desk showing Devin and everyone else in the room her platform boots.

"Not to mention you have a very bold style" Devin remarked as he realized AmyLee wasn't wearing a school uniform.

"I don't like to be reformed. You take me how I am, or you get out of my way" she said with a smirk before winking at Devin again. Devin laughed and started talking to her about the need to knows about the campus. Being that she had been there longer, she would have more insight as to the do's and don'ts that the head master wouldn't be able to tell him. Just as they had finished discussing everything, most students started to pour into the room. One student in particular caught Devin's eye because he heard a groan escape from AmyLee as he started heading in their direction.

"Who's that?" Devin asked.

"That would be my royal pain in the ass, Collin" she responded as she rolled her eyes. Devin started to laugh until AmyLee glared at him.

"Ahhh, there's my amazing lady" Collin said as he sat down in front of AmyLee.

"How did you know I would be here?" AmyLee asked in a rather cheery voice making Devin do a double take. Was this the same girl who just rolled her eyes and glared at him?

"Well I didn't, but I'm happy to know that we have a class again together" he said as he smiled before turning around to pay attention.

"Oh, you don't know how thrilled I am" AmyLee said as she made a silent gag and looked over at Devin who was trying to control his laughter. The rest of the class was uneventful, unless you count how distracted Devin was as AmyLee made a slight joke after every other thing the professor said. By the time class ended, Devin realized that he never paid attention the entire time. Not knowing really what to do he turned to Collin, who was packing away his stuff, and decided to ask.

"Did he assign us any homework?" Devin asked avoiding the glare that he was getting from AmyLee for talking to the plague.

"Oh no, Mr. Galloway never gives us homework. He always lets us get it done in class."

"Thank you" Devin said as he tried to pack up as quickly as possibly wanting to get away from the lecture he was about to receive from AmyLee.

"Don't mention it uhh" Collin trailed off realizing that he had never been introduced.

"Devin."

"Ahh, don't mention it Devin. I'm sure I'll see you around. This school isn't as big as they make it out to be." And with that, Collin was gone. Devin grabbed his bag and threw it over his shoulder. He turned around to leave and came face to face with a very unhappy AmyLee.

"First rule of being my new bestfriend, that kid is public enemy number one" she said as she pointed at Collin.

"What did he do?" Devin asked as the two left the room and headed outside.

"To put it simply, we are both thespians so we hang with the same clique. He wants me, but I don't want him because I'm grown enough to know that I don't need a man to make me happy."

"That would explain the change in your behavior earlier" Devin chuckled as he remembered her perkiness when speaking with Collin.

"Acting has its perks I guess" AmyLee said as she shrugged and started laughing.

"One quick thing" Devin said as he realized that they were now out front of the front gates.

"What's that" AmyLee asked as she turned to look at Devin.

"Why are we leaving the school?"

"Ahh yes, rule number two of being my bestfriend. We do not eat the cafeteria food. I don't know what that foul woman does behind the counter and in the kitchen, but whatever it is it makes that food sit in you like a rock. I don't know how everyone else can digest it. Instead, we take our more refined palates off campus to dine somewhere a little more robust."

Once again Devin had to laugh as he listened to AmyLee talk. She wrapped her arm around his shoulder and started walking him to a nearby diner that served lunch at a reasonable price. While they walked, AmyLee made sure to show Devin all the various shops that were in town not too far from the school. Devin's eyes wandered on a café for a little bit as he realized that he didn't have his parents here to tell him that he didn't need a job. Sure, they could support him it they wanted to, but he wanted to start supporting himself. He made a mental note to make sure he came back and checked the place out to see if they were hiring. Finally, the two of them had made it to the diner that AmyLee had mentioned. When the waitress walked over, she perked up when she saw AmyLee and asked if she would be getting her usual.

"You know me so well Marilyn," AmyLee said as she looked over at me, "What about you Devin? What are you thinking about getting?" I decided to look over the menu quick so that we didn't have to wait long because he only had forty-five minutes left for lunch.

"I guess I will get your grilled cheese with tomato soup" Devin said as he folded up his menu and gave it to Marilyn.

"That's a fine choice" AmyLee said as she watched Marilyn walk away to take care of their order.

"So, what are you in for?" AmyLee asked as she looked right at Devin.

"Excuse me?" Devin asked a bit perplexed.

"We all know that Bullworth Academy is basically a prison. How it is still functioning is beyond all of us. So, the real question is, what did you do to land yourself at Bullworth?"

Devin realized what she was asking and started to look away. He decided to live up to the words that he told himself last night and took a deep breath. "I was on the verge of getting kicked out because I was tired of kids picking on me for being gay, and one day I just ended up knocking two of them out."

"No shit!" AmyLee exclaimed as Marilyn came back with two plates of grilled cheese and two bowls of tomato soup.

"Hey Marilyn," AmyLee said as she nudged their waitress, "we got a regular Mike Tyson here. This little slugger knocked out two kids at his old school." Marilyn looked over at Devin and sized him up before she looked back at AmyLee and the two of them started giggling. As Marilyn started to walk away, Devin turned to AmyLee and saw that she was still giggling.

"What the hell did she say?" Devin asked getting a little heated.

"Nothing too concerning really. She just can't believe that someone like you ended up knocking out two of your classmates. But don't you worry about her. She doesn't know nothing, and besides I believe ya. I mean how could I not when I know that we practically have the same taste in food."

"This is your usual?" Devin asked as he looked at their plates.

"Ever since day one. Why do you think I told you it was a fine choice?" AmyLee asked as she broke off some of her grilled cheese and dipped it in her soup. Devin smiled and started to do the same as the two of them sat there and continued to talk about the school so Devin would be a bit more prepared. Through their conversation, Devin learned just how messed up Gary was and noted that the enemy he possibly made was not one to take lightly. He told AmyLee about his roles in different plays back at his old school, so she promised to show him about the mini theater on campus that the thespians hung out at. Lastly, Devin also learned that AmyLee was kicked out of her old school for a prank that she pulled on the principal. Apparently, kids weren't treating her too nicely as well, and her way of retaliating was getting back at the person who wasn't doing anything about it. She never went into full detail about the prank, but in her terms, it was pretty epic.

As the finished up, Devin looked at his watch and saw that they only had 10 minutes before their next class started. In a bit of a rush, AmyLee ran up to the counter and threw money at Marilyn telling her to keep the change. While running back to the school, Devin told AmyLee that he had art while she had chemistry, so the two decided to meet up in front of the school before heading over to the mini theater. Still rushing, Devin made it into the classroom on time, but ran right into what felt like a wall. He fell back and landed with a thud as he shook he head and looked up to see and unfamiliar face staring back at him.

"Watch where you're going ya pansy" the boy said as he started to walk away. Devin watched as the boy went to an open station and started talking to another boy.

"Are you okay?" came another unfamiliar voice as Devin looked over and saw a blonde-haired girl who was rather tall and lanky.

"Yeah, I was just nervous I was going to be late" Devin mumbled out as he picked himself up off the floor.

"Well you made it" the blonde exclaimed with little very little enthusiasm. Devin thanked her and looked around to see that all the other places were filled up, except for the station next to hers. Whether he needed to or not he found that it would be better if he asked, so he asked the girl if he could take the spot next to her. She told him to knock himself out, before realizing what she said and started laughing.

"What are you laughing for?" Devin asked as he sat down next to her.

"Because you practically did knock yourself out when you ran into Kirby" she stated as she motioned towards the boy who was now sitting there waiting for the teacher to begin.

"By the way, the name is Rachel."

"Devin" he said before the teacher cleared her throat to get everyone's attention. She didn't give them much time for introductions. The most she told the students was that her name was Ms. Philips, but other than that she got them started on their projects. It didn't take Devin long to remember just how much he hated art. It was no wonder that he had never taken it back at his old school, because he was sucking so bad. Devin realizing that there wasn't much hope for him, decided to do the only thing that he could to get a decent grade. He decided to outsmart the teacher by thinking outside the box. He looked around the room and found a few small items like a paintbrush, a plastic apple, and a jar. He neatly set them up into a brown paper bag and with his dominant hand started to draw what his other hand was feeling in the bag.

As Ms. Philips was making her way around the room, she stopped next to Devin when she saw what he was doing. "Interesting." Was all she said as she looked over Devin's work. Devin smiled to himself and thanked her before telling her that a person must go in blind at first to truly understand what it is he is trying to create. This in turn caused Ms. Philips to smile as she nodded and made her way around to the other students.

"That looks like shit" Rachel commented waiting for the teacher to move away from their table.

"You don't think I already know that" Devin laughed out as he put the finishing touches on his work. It looked more like an abstract catastrophe than anything else, but he held it up and smiled at Rachel regardless. She just chuckled and held up her artwork and Devin was surprised to see how intricate the work was. She had paid attention to the girl in front of her and drew the entire scene while adding various shadows giving the picture depth.

"Just between you and me, I'm the set designer for the thespians" Rachel laughed as she couldn't get over Devin's reaction.

"They must really love your work" Devin said as he looked back down at his work wanting to crumple it up and throw it out.

"I haven't had any complaints yet" Rachel smiled over at Devin making him smile as well.

"Listen Rachel," Devin said as he once again looked at the differences between their work, "would you be able to help me work on my art skills? I've never been very good at art, but I also don't want to get a low grade in any of my classes."

Rachel thought it over as she started to put her stuff away. It was getting close to the end of class and she didn't want to get stuck behind everyone else as they left. "I'll tell you what Devin. I could always use an extra pair of hands when I am working on designing the sets. How about we do your practice then, that way you get better and I can get sets done quicker?"

Devin thought it over as he tried to process just what this girl would have him doing. Being a part of theater at his old school taught him that set design could go from basic to intricate all within one scene. Every little detail mattered, especially it the judicator was coming to watch them perform. Apparently, he had been thinking about it too long because he felt himself get pushed a little to bring him back to reality.

"Do we have a deal?" Rachel asked looking the boy over for any sign of life.

"Yeah we have a deal" Devin said as he started to pack up his stuff.

"Good! Meet me tomorrow after classes because we have to get working on the next play as soon as possible." Rachel left the minute that the bell rang and Devin just stood there a little dumbfounded and wondering what he had gotten himself into. He started to pack his things away when he felt someone linger up behind him.

"You were able to save yourself today Mr. Roedant, but I expect to see more from you in the next few weeks" Ms. Philips said as took the bag and started putting the items back for Devin.

"I'm sorry Ms. Philips. I thought you wouldn't have noticed what I was trying to do. The fact of the matter is, I'm not very good at art, but Rachel is going to help me out" Devin replied as he started to zip up his bag and leave.

"Smart move on your part Mr. Roedant. I look forward to what she is able to bring out in you" Ms. Philips said as she disappeared further back in the room. Devin shook his head and decided to head towards the front of the school where AmyLee was already waiting for him. She hopped down from a nearby table and walked over to him all excited to show him the mini theater that was constructed on campus. Most schools would use the auditorium, and the students usually did, but the thespians were known to swing in some cash by doing private shows in their mini theater on campus. The money usually went towards sprucing up the mini theater. So far, the group had removed the old lights, and replaced them with a new lighting system that lit the stage up better. They had replaced some old floor boards that were starting to rot out. Plus, the had managed to get a few new changing rooms installed so they all weren't waiting on the same room to change into their outfits.

"What's on your agenda tomorrow" AmyLee asked as she plopped down in one of the theater seats to kick her feet up.

"Well aside from chemistry and gym, I'm supposed to meet up with Rachel after school to help with set designs" Devin replied putting his bag down and relaxing back in his seat.

"Why would you be helping Rachel?" AmyLee asked in a sour tone.

"I'm not very good at art and she said that she would help me get better by helping with the set designs" Devin confessed hoping that it would ease the conversation a bit.

"So, not only do you knock other students out, you also care about your grades" AmyLee chided as she poked fun at Devin. Devin started to blush and look away because AmyLee started laughing harder and told him not to worry. The clothes, make-up, and attitude fools everyone into thinking she struggles with school because stereotyping; however, little miss rain of sunshine was a straight A student so she understands how important his grades were to him. As she told him, "I hate the people, not the work that goes into high school." Devin agreed before he looked down at his watch. It wasn't even six yet and he was starting to feel hungry again.

"Come and eat with the thespians" AmyLee stated as she stood up and stretched out before grabbing her bag. Devin was happy to once again being invited out to eat. Apparently, all the thespians had their concerns with the cafeteria food and didn't want to get sick. The two of them changed into some of their regular clothes. AmyLee walked out of the girl's dorm wearing a loose tie and dress shirt with a complimenting punk rock skirt with fishnet leggings. She still had on her platform boots and gave Devin a once over. He came out wearing a flashy button down and tight boot-cut jeans that were faded for appearance. He finished off his look with a set of black suede shoes.

"If I didn't know any better, I would have said that you were a bit preppy" AmyLee picked as she made him do a turn so she could get the full effect.

"You don't have to have money to like name brand clothes" Devin shot back at her not realizing that she was only kidding.

"Calm down tiger, I may be a woman but I will put you in your place" AmyLee joked around again as she grabbed the boy in a head-lock and giggled.

"So, give me the run down on everyone" Devin said as they made their way to a different diner that was in town.

"First off they are going to look at your attire and comment behind your back about how you overdressed for dinner" AmyLee stated making the boy blush to the point where his ears were burning.

"Not what you were looking for?" AmyLee asked as she continued to laugh.

"Nevermind!" Devin exclaimed as he too started to laugh and try walking away from her.

"Go ahead and try and leave me behind, but you don't even know where we are going" AmyLee yelled after him, refusing to run to catch up. Devin stopped and realized that she was right and stopped in his tracks.

"That's a good boy," she kidded and started telling him what he really wanted to hear. "Well you've already met the main couple of the thespians, Collin and Rachel. They've been together ever since I put that sorry, pathetic excuse for a man, in his place. The two second in commands for the thespians are Lincoln and Freddy. Lincoln is a tall red-head with little to no paleness on his face because of the number of freckles he has. It's a wonder we can cover them all up when we are on stage. Freddy on the other hand is short with black hair that is usually thrown up into some kind of style. He cares way too much about his hair, so make sure to remember that. Stephanie is Rachel's bestfriend and a bit of a show off. She has auburn hair that is halfway down her back and I just want to strangle her with it whenever she is practicing her vocals and I am trying to nap. Matthew is rather shy, but has a good head on his shoulders. Literally, his head is probably just as big as the rest of him. Ryan is the last man of our group and has that blonde-haired, blue-eyes get up going for him that all the morons swoon for."

It was at this moment Devin mentioned that Rachel was a blonde-haired, blue-eyes girl. AmyLee gave him a look that said everything. It was one of those looks that said my point exactly. AmyLee continued with the last student.

"Lastly there is Rose. She is a short red-head that is much like me in that she doesn't let men get to her. What sets us apart is she doesn't let men close because she is an airhead, I don't because I know that I don't need them." Devin made sure to remember the difference between everyone before they entered the diner that he was interested in possibly applying to. They two looked around until they saw a large group of students in the back of the room.

"Good god you are back" came a strained voice as the two of them turned around and saw an exhausted waiter.

"What do you mean by that?" AmyLee spat out as she walked over to him.

"You almost got me fired the last time you were here" he stated as he got a cup of water with ice together.

"You know full well that there was a hair in my food Michael, and that I wasn't going to eat it" AmyLee stated defending herself.

"That doesn't mean you parade around the diner shouting and chanting" Michael responded as he grabbed a straw.

"Well now you know better than to tell me that you can't take it back to get me another" AmyLee declared rather confidant before strolled away and dragging Devin with her. The two of them sat at their table tuning into the several conversations that were floating around the table. Devin turned to AmyLee and decided against trying to jump into one. Instead, he sarcastically complimented AmyLee about how she managed to make friends where ever she went. She just kind of shrugged and the two of them started to laugh drawing the attention from the rest of the group. Devin looked down at the far end of the table and saw Collin's face light up when he looked over at AmyLee.

"You're finally here, and you brought…Devin?" Collin questioned as he eyes went back over to AmyLee.

"If you got a problem with me wanting to expand the group, I can leave right now" AmyLee stated as she started to get up from the table.

"Don't be so rash" Collin spat out as he jumped up from his seat. "I just didn't know that we were going to have a guest."

"He's not a guest" AmyLee shot out as she sat back down in her chair.

"He may be knew, but I don't foresee him helping us with our plays" Lincoln fired out trying to back up Collin.

"That's where you're wrong" Rachel tagged in smiling at the boys who were looking at her. "He's my new set designer, so I will now have an extra set of hands helping me." Rachel looked over at Devin making him blush as he nodded to the questions if that was true.

"But you always work alone on your sets" Collin said rather sad that it wasn't him helping.

"I know, but he wants help with art so the best way to do that for me is to get him into helping with the set designs. Pretty soon Miss Peters will have the scripts out for us to start practicing and get into our roles, and I want to make sure I have half of the set done before that happens."

"Yeah, and besides, he used to be in theater back at his old school" AmyLee added in motioning towards Devin as he tried to casually drink his water and act like everyone wasn't looking at him. Dinner continued as usual as they all talked and joked about issues each other had in past shows. Unfortunately, Michael was their waiter, and the poor guy shivered when he had to take AmyLee's order. Surprisingly after that everything went smoothly and as they all headed back to the school they kidded around and joked with Devin. Freddy was the first one to finally bring up how overdressed Devin was for dinner which caused a domino effect of everyone deciding to get in on his outfit. Devin looked over at AmyLee for support, who just threw her hands up in defense and laughed. She did warn him to begin with, she just didn't know it was going to be after dinner that it happened.

The guys said their farewells to the girls and headed into their dorm. Devin broke away from the group and walked into his room and flopped down on his bed. His feet were sore and his body was tired, but he couldn't deny the fact that today was a good day. He managed to work himself into a clique full of people he could tolerate. He only had the one slip up today when he ran into that one kid. Rachel said his name was Kirby, but it didn't look like he was going to be seeing much more of him besides classes. Devin wasn't big on sports and from what Kirby was wearing today, he was obviously a jock.

"Hey there Devin" came a cheery voice with a knock. Devin looked up to see Petey standing in his doorway.

"Hey Petey" Devin replied as he said up on his bed still dressed in his clothes for dinner.

"How was your first day?" Petey asked as he came in and sat down on his bed next to him.

"It was pretty good surprisingly. I can't really complain considering I was all over the place today."

"What's with the fancy getup" Petey asked as he gave Devin a once over.

"Went out to dinner with some new friends. I was told that I overdressed" Devin replied as he chuckled and got up out of his bed.

"Well you could have gone out in less, so they should be happy you dressed as good as you did" came Petey's reply. Before Devin could turn around and thank him Petey was gone. Devin stepped out into the hallway and saw Petey, Gary, and another kid leave the boy's dorm. He just shook his head not knowing how Petey could hang out with someone who treated him like shit. Devin threw his shirt and his pants into the dirty clothes hamper before stretching out and looking over his schedule. He had chemistry in the morning and gym later in the day. He heard something creak behind him and turned around to see no one there. He just shook his head and blamed it on being too tired from the activities today. He walked over and turned off his light before setting his alarm for seven so that he had time to shower before classes.

A mysterious figure slumped up against the wall afraid to move. He looked in the room to see that Devin was finally in bed before he made his way down the hall into his own room. He had been on his way to the bathroom when he noticed the door open and saw that Devin was standing there in just his boxers and undershirt. He shook his head to try and get the image out of his head, but he couldn't as he climbed into bed and tried to clear out his mind.


	2. Chapter 2

The next morning Devin woke up and grabbed a set of clothes. He hopped in the shower and got himself cleaned up. It felt like forever since he had a shower, when in all actuality it had only been a day. Maybe it was just because the boy's dorm looked so rundown that it made him feel extra dirty. He got his hair the way he wanted it when a figure walked into the bathroom. He turned to look and it was a taller blonde boy who was getting ready to take a shower as well. He noticed that it was the boy from the other day that had looked hurt. Devin, letting his gut lead the way, walked over to the boy as he got his shower ready.

"Hey, I could help but notice you the other day and was wondering if you were feeling better?"

The boy turned around and looked at Devin a bit confused. "What are you talking about?" the boy asked as he crossed his arms in front of his chest.

"You looked like you were hurt the other day when I was heading back into the boy's dorm. I guess I could be wrong" Devin mumbled the last part as he grabbed his stuff and decided he was better off just leaving. Before he could even hear the boy respond, Devin was out of the bathroom and in his room grabbing his stuff for chemistry. He walked outside into the crisp fall air and exhaled deeply. He felt someone shove past him and turned to see Gary glaring at him as he ran by with Petey and the other boy. Petey waved and said good morning to Devin. Devin yelled good morning back as he started to walk down the stairs and tried to brush off what happened.

Devin was realizing that he was starting to get into that same mood when he basically said fuck it to the world and knocked those two kids out. He was making his way to his chemistry class and had plenty of time, when a kid come out of nowhere and shoved him down. Devin fell down to the sidewalk with a soft thud and looked up to see the Ethan kid from the other day staring down at him.

"What the hell?" Devin yelled up at Ethan as he tried to stand up. He got to his feet before he felt Ethan grapple him.

"Whatever I want" Ethan spat out as he drew back and punched Devin before pushing him away. It was at that moment when Devin felt his switch flip again. Unbeknownst to him, AmyLee and Rose were making their way towards him with a few other students unaware of what was going on.

"If you wanna go, I guess it's time you put your money where your mouth is" Devin said as he brought his hands up. Ethan took the taunt and made a move towards Devin. Devin decided to take the hit because he saw it going towards his side. Once Ethan made contact, Devin winced but brought his arm down and pinned Ethan's wrist to his side. Now that he was pinned and struggling to pull away, Devin brought his other fist down and connected a few times with Ethan's face before pushing him back. Now that the momentum had shifted to him, Devin capitalized with it by dropping down and sweeping his leg around. Ethan was knocked off his feet and hit the sidewalk with a loud thud that caused the wind to get knocked out of him.

Devin once again capitalized on the situation and climbed on top of Ethan bunching up his shirt and pulling him up to connect with his fist. At this point Ethan knew he was in trouble, so he threw his hands up to cover his face to keep the blows to a minimum. Devin was so caught up in what was happening that he was prepared to be picked up. Two hands grabbed him from under his armpits and slammed him against a nearby wall. When Devin's eyes refocused, he saw that he was face to face with the kid from the shower.

"Devin!" he heard a familiar face yell out as he looked over and saw AmyLee and Rose standing off with a few students. Devin struggled against the strength of the blonde-haired boy in front of him and was unsuccessful in getting himself removed from his grip.

"Let go of him Trent!" Rose calmly said as she grabbed at his arm. Trent shook her away and looked back at Devin before he released him and let him fall to the ground. Trent then turned around and went to go and help Ethan off the ground before turning back to Devin. As Rose and AmyLee helped Devin to his feet, the one thing playing through his mind was that Trent had showed no emotions through the entire ordeal. If he was angry at Devin for beating up his friend he didn't show it. Devin looked at both AmyLee and Rose and thanked them for helping him up. He had a bad feeling at the pit of his stomach and AmyLee could read his face like a book.

She threw her arm over his shoulder as they entered the school. "You don't have to worry about anything. Knowing Ethan will be too embarrassed to admit that he got his ass kicked by a scrawny kid like you. But damn, I never thought I'd get to see you in action." AmyLee just smiled as she looked over at Devin seeing him relax a little.

"I just woke up in a mood where I don't want to take any shit today" Devin said plainly as he asked what her and Rose had. Turned out he and Rose were going to be in chemistry together as AmyLee made her way to math. While they walked to the classroom, Devin realized just what AmyLee meant when Rose was a bit of an airhead. A few guys flocked over to her and were clearly flirting, but Rose just kind of stood there and asked them if they thought fish knew how big their homes were if they lived in the ocean. If Devin wasn't forewarned about how ditzy she could be, he would have sworn that that girl was higher than a kite.

Unfortunately, Chemistry was very boring for Devin as he was more in tune with science than most of his other courses. Rose however managed to nearly blow her space up twice when she added the wrong ingredient into her concoction. If it wasn't for Dr. Watts, he sure that the classroom would no longer be standing. As they left Devin asked if Rose had any plans. She told him that she normally went back to her room to study, but Devin asked if she wanted to head to the diner he and AmyLee went to the other day. She graciously agreed to go and the two started to head that way when AmyLee ran up next to them.

"It's a good thing I caught up to you two" AmyLee panted out as they headed towards the diner.

"Why's that?" Devin asked as Rose just started noddingly along to a tune she had stuck in her head.

"You'd have had a lot of guys after you if they saw that it was just you and little miss in my own world twenty-four seven going out to eat" AmyLee said as she gestured to Rose, who didn't seem to notice. Devin chuckled a little as the got to the diner. Once again AmyLee and Devin both got grilled cheese with tomato soup, and Rose decided to order a tuna melt with a small side of fries. AmyLee made a face and told Rose she made a very interesting selection. Rose just giggled and thanked her before going back to nodding to her own tune. Devin looked over at her as he decided he was going to ask her a question he had wanted to earlier, but there were too many people around.

"Hey Rose," Devin asked as he watched her head stop nodding and look at him, "how do you know Trent?"

"Believe it or not, he has been known to try out for some of the plays that we do for the school" Rose responded as she giggled looking off to the right. ' _Probably remembering something he did during one of those plays_ ' Devin thought to himself as he watched the smile grow across Rose's face. He didn't feel like keeping her on the subject though because she seemed pretty into the beat that was playing in her head as she went back to nodding.

"That bully has two left feet though" AmyLee told me as she watched Marilyn lay down their plates.

"You guys had plays with dancing scenes?" Devin asked as he bit into one of his grilled cheese sandwiches.

"No," Rose started as she nibbled on one of her fries, "during one of the dances, he asked if I wanted to dance. I agreed and he stepped on my feet through the entire thing." Devin started to chuckle as they sat there and discussed what they wore to the dance and other students at the dance. Rose made the mistake of bringing up Collin trying to persuade AmyLee to dance, resulting in AmyLee grabbing one of her fries, dipping it in her ketchup, and using it as a paintbrush across her face. Rose not thinking anything of it tried to do the same thing before AmyLee caught her wrist and asked her how much she valued being able to use both of her hands.

Rose still not realizing what was going on replied with she valued both of her hands very much. This caused Devin to laugh out and make AmyLee look at him. Rose joined in on the laughter, and eventually AmyLee started laughing as she released Rose's wrist. Once they were done, they started making their way back to the school. Rose started to head towards the school for art, and AmyLee and Devin headed off towards their classes. Unfortunately, AmyLee had shop and he had gym, but they at least got to walk in the same direction.

"I see what you mean when Rose can be a complete airhead" Devin remarked as he looked over at AmyLee.

"Yeah, but she's my airhead. She knows that I would never really hurt her. I'm just scared for when she actually starts dating" AmyLee laughed as she waved farewell to Devin and left him to get to gym. He changed into his school gear and headed out to see Fatty and the boy who was hanging out with Petey and Gary wrestling. He heard the teacher, Mr. Burton, yell out the name Jimmy. He figured that was the name of the other kid since Fatty told him everyone called him Fatty here at school. Devin stood off in the back of the class not wanting to participate. He still had some pent-up frustrations from earlier that he didn't want to get the best of him.

Luck was not on his side though when he heard Mr. Burton call for him and Kirby to step forward onto the mat. Kirby, confidant in his ability, stepped out onto the mat. Devin tried to reason with his teacher until Mr. Burton threatened to knock his grade down for not participating. Devin stepped up to the mat and sighed when he put two and two together. A part of him was hoping that the Kirby in his class was someone else, but fat chance of that happening with his horrible luck. He got himself into a defensive stance because Kirby looked like he was going to try for an all-out offensive attack. At least if Kirby overpowered him, he would be able to keep up with him in his defensive stance.

Once Mr. Burton blew the whistle, Kirby attempted to grapple Devin, but Devin evaded the attack by rolling out of the way. Instead of getting up, Devin went for the same leg sweep that he used against Ethan, and managed to knock Kirby down to the mat. The teacher seemed to be impressed and started to watch with a little more interest as Devin rolled over on top of Kirby and pinned him down. Devin though he had the upper hand, but Kirby effortlessly rolled them over and tried to pin him down. Devin started to struggle as Kirby started to lean down onto him, trying to use his weight to pin him down. Mr. Burton was just about ready to call it when he watched as Devin worked his legs up and hooked his ankles under Kirby's armpits. Without missing a beat, Devin used Kirby's weight against him and rolled him onto his back. Kirby did have a chance to move as he legs were already around Devin, and his arms were pinned down by Devin's legs. In this position, he had no way of using his weight to out power Devin.

Mr. Burton blew the whistle and told Devin that he did a good job. Devin was going to turn around and shake hands with Kirby, but when he turned he saw Kirby running towards the locker room. Devin turned back around to the teacher, who told him not to worry about it. Kirby was probably just a little embarrassed for being pinned.

"He shouldn't really be that embarrassed though," Devin said to Mr. Burton as he looked towards the locker room, "Kirby is definitely way stronger than me. I just used his power and weight against him." Mr. Burton slapped Devin on his back and chuckled, sending the poor kid forward from the impact. Mr. Burton continued to laugh and muttered something about how he never thought there was more to wrestling then being stronger than your opponent. Devin guessed that class was over and made his way to the locker room. When he got there, he saw Kirby was already changed and was splashing water onto his face. He decided to approach him, and jumped back when he saw Kirby look up and then glare at him through the mirror.

"Come to gloat" Kirby mumbled out as he grabbed some paper towels to dry his face.

"No, I came to tell you that you did a good job" Devin responded as he watched Kirby freeze up and stand there. He looked as if he was thinking about something, before Devin watched him shake his head and throw the paper towels away.

"Don't mock me" Kirby stated as he made his way towards the door. Devin held his arm out and grabbed Kirby's shoulder making the boy stop and turn to look at him.

"If I wanted to mock you I probably could, just believe me on this one. I don't care if you don't like me, but at least realize when someone has the balls to actually compliment you on something you did good on." Devin released his shoulder and went over to his locker to get changed. He didn't know, but Kirby lingered there for a little bit before shaking his head again and leaving the locker room. Devin locked up, left the gym, and started making his way over to the mini theater to get started on the set designs with Rachel. Upon entering the theater, he saw several of the thespians already there, and it looked like they were practicing. Devin disregarded them and went towards the back of the theater to find Rachel sporting a very irritated look on her face.

"I swear that bitch has a bug on me" Rachel muttered to herself as she turned and yelped not expecting someone else to be there. Devin just kind of looked at her and made a face.

"Pretend you didn't hear that," Rachel started as she walked over to a table and brought over pencils and paint.

"Well you can't just call someone a bitch and not expect some curiosity from another student" Devin said as he started to take of his fleece. Rachel realized that Devin was going to probably instigate her about it and decided the best course of action was to just tell him.

"It's Miss Peters. I swear she knows exactly what I'm planning. Yesterday at dinner I mentioned I wanted to get half the set done before the scripts were out, and all of a sudden, she had the scripts all ready to go today for everyone. Now I'm not going to get any freaking peace and quiet while working on the set designs."

"Does someone have an issue?" Came a very sarcastic voice from the left of the stage. Rachel and Devin both looked over and saw Jimmy and a few others standing next to the side of the stage.

"What the hell do you want?" Rachel asked as she started to rub the sides of her head. Devin imagined that she was just about ready to burst.

"Apparently, as delinquents a proper punishment is making us take part in the upcoming school play" Jimmy responded as a few of the other boys just groaned.

"Well if you really want to help, why don't you take everyone to the auditorium with you so they are out of my hair" Rachel spat out at Jimmy who liked at her with defiance.

"What's in it for me?" Jimmy asked as he crossed his arms, deciding to not back down without a fight. Rachel thought about it until she shook her head.

"The best I can do is give you my share after our next private showing here in the theater" Rachel offered as she stuck her hand out to forge the deal. Jimmy smiled as he shook her hands and started to shove the guys off the stage and out the front door of the theater.

"Are you sure that was a wise idea?" Devin asked as he watched Rachel start to lay down the blank backdrops.

"Jimmy's a pig who only cares about himself. Give a pig the slops that really make them squeal, and you'll have them bending at your every word" Rachel responded as she handed Devin a pencil. "Now we are going to start out very basic for you. The play that we are getting ready for is Hairspray, so I want you to draw out a brick wall with at least two windows. In the windows I would like for you to draw house hold objects, so be it a lamp or maybe the back of a picture frame. Think you can do that for me?"

Devin nodded his head and started drawing right away. At first, he was enjoying the simplistic task of drawing out the layers of brick, until Rachel came over and lectured him about leaving small spaces between the bricks so that they could paint in the cement that would be holding them together. She also told him that his bricks were a tad too simplistic, and that he should give a bit more texture to them then just drawing straight lines. She handed Devin a large eraser and told him to start all over again and remember to leave the spaces in between the bricks and find a way to give them texture. Devin grumbled under his breath as he erased all his hard work. He restarted with his drawing and managed to work in a bit of a texture to the bricks with his pencil, while remembering to leave spaces between the bricks. Devin was just starting to work on the first window when Rachel come over and told him to stop again. Devin got a little frustrated as he pulled himself away from his work again. Rachel told him that his window was not going to be centered unless he erased the last few layers of bricks and redid them. Devin stepped back to where Rachel was and realized that she was right. The last two layers of bricks started to elongate towards the right and were not as straight.

He thanked Rachel and started erasing his work again. Devin started paying more attention to his dimensions as he started to redraw the two layers of bricks and started working on the window when he looked over a Rachel. She had already finished drawing a row of lockers for a hallway scene, and was starting to paint them. Devin started to get a little jealous as he looked back at his work and realized that he still had a little less than half the sheet to go, and was still missing a second window with the household items in the windows. He felt a little accomplished though as he realized that he was starting to get a little better at drawing. This is what he set out to do, so in time he would get better at it. He shook the jealous thoughts away and started to finish his window.

Devin had just finished the second window, and layered bricks in between them, when Rachel told him it was quitting time for the night. She had finished painting her back drop and was letting it dry. She looked over the work that he had done so far and told him that she was happy with what she was seeing. Devin just looked at his work then over at hers a sighed a little. He was happy to get praise, but was not completely convinced that she was happy with his work.

"I guess you're going to finish this since I couldn't" Devin said as he started to pick up his supplies and put them away.

"Nope," Rachel said getting a surprised look from Devin as he turned around, "part of teaching is giving the pupil a chance to prove themselves with their work. Sure, you have a few slip ups when you first started, but you took what I said and started to change your design. I told you that you were going to be doing a brick wall, so this part of the background is yours, and yours alone. I will still be here to help you out with it, but my hands will not be touching this because you are the one creating it."

Devin started to smile as Rachel gave him a smile in return. "Now come on," she motioned him towards the exit, "we have to get ready for dinner with the crew. I have a feeling we are going to have extra people since Collin ends up inviting anyone in the play." Devin watched her as she rolled her eyes and knowing that she wasn't looking forward to Jimmy being there. Devin looked over at Rachel and decided to try and see if he could get her to smile again.

"Want to overdress with me for dinner tonight?" He asked wondering if she would go for it. Luckily, she did because she smiled and turned to him.

"I would love to overdress for dinner tonight with you" she said emphasizing the word love in her sentence. Devin smiled as he left her to go and get dressed. He threw on a black button down the sparkled a little when the light hit it just right. He slid on a tight pair of black slacks, and finished his outfit off with his pair of black suede shoes. When he left the boy's dorm, he was stunned to see Rebecca with her hair up in a bun. She was wearing a lacy white blouse and a black blouse on and a black pencil skirt. The skirt had a slit up the side that reached up to her thigh. She wore black heels and a gold necklace that complimented her outfit nicely.

"Well, you clean up nicely" Rachel said as she looked over at Devin and smiled.

"It's hard to believe you bury yourself in sweaters and leggings" Devin said as he gave her a once over.

"Yeah and it is also hard to believe that Collin still can't see these curves because he too absent minded" she joked as she looped her arm through Devin's and walked with him to the restaurant. Devin saw that it was just as she predicted when they arrived. Collin had apparently asked the other boys who were being made to try out for the play to join us. Devin looked around the table as Rachel decided to sit next to him, instead of next to Collin. Devin looked over to see he was getting a dirty look from Collin, but also saw that Jimmy was only a few chairs down from where Rachel would have been sitting.

"Well look at the cute couple" Trent kidded as he everyone looked at Devin and Rachel's clothes.

"You're just jealous because you wouldn't know how to treat a woman even if she told you what to do" Rachel heckled him as Devin pushed her chair in. "Besides, I think I prefer a gentleman like Devin over a brute like you." Trent held his hand over his chest as if he was truly hurt by her words and started laughing. It was a different attitude then the one that he saw from him earlier in the day. Devin didn't even have time to prepare before he heard AmyLee start to speak.

"I wouldn't be saying that Devin's that far away from being a brute if you had seen him this morning."

"What happened?" Stephanie asked as she looked over at Devin who shot AmyLee a look of horror.

"He kicked the crap out of Ethan" Trent said before AmyLee had the chance to.

"He beat up one of the bullies?" Lincoln asked as he started to laugh. Rachel just looked at Devin who started to blush seeing him in a completely different light. It wasn't a bad light, but by looking at him Devin didn't look like someone who could hold his own in a fight. As everyone else at the table started to rant and laugh about it, Rachel leaned over to Devin and told him to teach some of what he knows to Collin. The two shared a giggle before they tuned back into the conversation.

"I kid you not," Trent stated as he looked around the table at everyone, "he had Ethan on the ground and was beating the crap out of him until I came over and picked him up off him." Jimmy looked over at Devin and sized him up quick trying to decide if he could be a possible threat, or a possible ally. Devin didn't notice this because he was busy going around the table to see who else was new. He obviously knew all the thespians so he disregarded them. Thanks to Rose, he knew that the boy in the white was Trent. Gym class helped him learn Jimmy's name so he could finally put a name with a face. The student that he saw getting picked on by Ethan on his first day of school was there, so he needed to learn his name. There were two new girls at the table that he had never been introduced to before, and the last person was…Kirby!

' _What the hell is he doing here_ ' Devin thought to himself as he saw Kirby lock eyes with him, and he quickly averted his gaze and stared at his lap. He was pretty sure that this kid hated him and if he was going to be in the play, that meant he would be spending close to a month with this kid around. Not to mention he had him in two of his classes. Kirby continued to stare at Devin. He paid particular attention to his style. The only thought really going through his head was why did he have to be stuck here with these people. He wasn't into theater and wished that he had never gotten into trouble if this is what his fate was going to be.

"Hey are you okay?" Trent asked as he leaned over and gave Kirby a little nudge. Kirby pushed aside his thoughts and told Trent that he was fine before fixing his eyes in front of him at the menu. Trent wasn't as stupid as everyone made him out to be, and decided to look in the direction that Kirby had been looking and saw Devin also looking over his menu. Trent suspiciously looked back over at Kirby before looking at his menu with everyone else. Michael was working again and came over to their table. As he grabbed everyone's order, Devin decided to follow him out of the room and pulled him aside.

"Do you need to change something?" Michael asked as he got his pen and pad ready.

"Oh no," Devin laughed as he nervously scratched at the back of his head, "I just wanted to know who I would talk to about applying here." Without even lifting his eyes from the pad, Michael pointed to an older male behind the bar with peppered hair and a thick mustache. Devin thanked him and approached the man, who gave him a look before laughing. The man told him that this was a respectable restaurant, and that the bar was very adults who were old enough. Devin laughed as well and told him he was not there for a drink.

"Well, what do you need kid" the cheery man said as he started to dry out one of his glasses.

"I was interested in possibly applying for a job here, if you have any available" Devin said as he watched a different waiter come out from the back with a circular tray full of food.

"In all honesty kid, I could use another bus boy here at night, but it gets pretty busy. How good are you with pressure?" the man asked as he placed the glass down on the bar top and looked at Devin.

"I guess I can handle a fair amount of pressure" Devin responded as he tried to look confident, but couldn't help playing with his fingers nervously. The man looked around and saw the old stage that they would use around summer time when they had local bands come in.

"How about I make you a deal," the man said as he raised an eyebrow to see if Devin was paying attention, "I know that they group of kids you come in here with are those that like the performing arts. Why don't you go over to the stage and sing these fine ladies and gentlemen a song? It's a lot of pressure, and you can do it, I give you the position." Devin looked over at the stage before turning back to the man.

"You're serious? All I have to do is sing any song of my choosing?" Devin asked as he thought about it. The man just nodded and smiled, wondering if the boy was going to take him up on his offer. Devin looked over at the stage again before asking if there was a karaoke machine over on the stage.

"Why do you need a machine?" asked the owner as he looked at Devin suspiciously.

"I would like to have the music going while I'm singing. Just for your sake, I'll stand as far away from the lyrics as I can" Devin replied as he gave the man an honest look. The man nodded and headed over to the stage to turn it on for him. AmyLee had noticed that Devin had been gone for a while and decided to get up from the table and excused herself. Rachel decided to go with her to see what was going on as well. When they came out, they saw Devin standing up on the stage flipping through song suggestions. An older man who was standing behind the bar was wiping down the bar top and looking over at Devin. AmyLee and Rachel headed over to where he was and asked what was going on. He explained to them that the boy was interested in a job at his restaurant, and decided this was the best way to see how he did under pressure. AmyLee smiled when she realized what was happening and told Rachel to take a seat as she plopped a squat down at the bar.

Finally, they saw Devin look up from the karaoke machine and start to step away from it. Devin gave the owner a thumb up, who walked over to the machine and hit the play button for him. Music started to fill the room and instantly Rachel knew what the song was.

"What did he choose?" AmyLee asked as she was a bit unfamiliar with the song.

"Attention by Charlie Puth" Rachel responded back as she started moving her head back and forth to the beat. Devin closed his eyes and prepared himself for the five seconds of instrumental before he had to start singing. Once he got through the first little bit of the intro, he started to get a bit more confidant and started singing louder. Rachel and AmyLee both shared a look and smiled.

"He has to audition for a part in Hairspray" Rachel yelled over to AmyLee over the music.

"You read my mind" AmyLee yelled back as the two started to snap along to the beat. It was about at that time that everyone else started to pick up on the music and a few of them left the table to go and check it out. Collin stayed behind with Lincoln, Freddy, Kirby, Trent, and Jimmy. Rose immediately saw Devin and started getting into the beat. She grabbed the closest person to her, which happened to be Matthew, and started forcing him to dance with her. The others took turns between watching the two dance, and Devin sing the song to the people in the restaurant. After he hand finished the song, Devin looked out and froze in fear when he saw his classmates standing around. He didn't think that they would have been able to hear him in the back room. Regardless, he heard a round of applause echo throughout the restaurant so he decided to take a bow.

"Nice job kid," the owner said as he went up on stage to turn off the machine. "Stop by sometime next week for us to discuss a schedule for you. By the way the name's Mr. Spair." The owner held his hand out and Devin shook it. He thanked Mr. Spair for giving him a chance, and headed off towards the back room to see if his food had finally arrived.

"So, you can fight, you can sing, you can act, and you're smart," AmyLee said as she saddled up next to him with Rachel filling in the other side. "Is there anything else I should know about you before I get to involved with you?" she asked as she put him in a head lock.

"Is now the time to confess about my secret identity?" Devin laughed out as he joked around with her.

"No time like the present" Rachel added in as the three of them all laughed. They made their way back to the table to find it buzzing with the kids telling the others about Devin's performance. Rose went on and on about how good he was, while Stephanie complimented him on his song choice. Rachel decided to have a little bit of fun with her boyfriend, and took a very bold step.

"With his talents, I bet he could be the next lead in the play" she said as she started eating her food. AmyLee was surprised to hear her say that and looked down at the end of the table to see Collin staring daggers at her. Rachel looked up at AmyLee and the two shared a smile before they started to chuckle. Devin just smiled and thanked everyone for their kind words. He didn't think he was as good as they were saying, but the encouragement felt nice none the less. As everyone finished up eating, Devin looked around to see that everyone had gotten out their money to help cover part of the bill. He grabbed the bill and the money and went up to the register to pay. Once he was done, they all stepped outside to find the cool air had changed to a crisp chill. Rachel wrapped her arms around herself before Collin came over and but his coat on her. The two walked towards the school as Devin decided to hang back for a little bit and let the others go before him. When he stepped outside, Rose and AmyLee were waiting for him the three started to head back to the school.

"You're definitely going to be the one to beat" AmyLee said as she turned to Devin.

"You do know that it takes more than just being a good singer to get a part, right?" Devin asked as he started to chuckle. With that he felt a cold wind sneak around him and he started to shiver before he felt something heave dropped onto his shoulder. He looked over to see Trent walking beside them.

"What are you doing?" Devin asked looking up at the taller boy, as did AmyLee.

"I was in the bathroom, and everyone left without me. It wasn't too hard to see that you wear shivering since it's still light out and you are wearing a black shirt." As he said this he looked over at AmyLee and shot her a look that made her shake her head. She would never understand boys but she knew when something seemed fishy. It was at that moment that Rose turned and saw Trent and said hello to him. Trent just chuckled and said hello back. Once they were on campus, the four said their goodbyes for the night and went to their separate dorms. Upon entering the boy's dorm, Devin turned to Trent and gave him his jacket. He made sure to thank him and Trent told him that he was welcome.

Devin and Trent stood there for a minute before Devin said goodnight and left the awkward situation. He didn't know what Trent was up to, but he didn't have time to figure it out. He knew that his classes were going to start picking up, he was going to be extremely busy with set design and script reading, and his new job was going to occupy his nights. Once he was in his room, he was surprised to find another boy in there. It was Jimmy, and he was over near his desk looking through his planner before closing it.

"Can I help you?" Devin asked as he walked over to the shorter boy.

"Not really," Jimmy replied as he got up out of the desk chair. "I think I got you figured out and that's all I really needed."

"Care to explain?" Devin asked as he started to take his shoes off and massage his feet.

"I don't know whether you're going to be a friend or a for, but for right now my best move is to keep you as an acquaintance. You'll be seeing me around a lot more" Jimmy said before leaving Devin's room. Devin just shook his head and laid back on his bed. He just about ready to fall asleep when he heard a knock on his door. He looked over and was surprised to see Kirby standing at his door.

"I've been thinking about this all day, and I just wanted to thank you for what you said earlier today in the locker room." Devin smiled and told him that he was welcome. Before he could tell the kid goodnight, he was already gone. As Devin laid there, he started to unbutton his shirt and passed out with it open. Nothing else mattered to him except for the dreams that were starting to fill his head.


	3. Chapter 3

Devin sat there diligently painting the bricks on his backdrop. He had spent the last week finishing up the drawing aspect, and took a little bit of time to work with Rachel on mixing his colors to create a brick red. The red itself was too bright for the brick that Rachel was imagining for the backdrop. She wanted Devin to try and create something a little darker and when they managed to create the perfect blend, Rachel sent him on his way to start painting. Luckily, Jimmy was still holding up his end of the deal he made with Rachel and kept everyone in the auditorium for rehearsing and practicing. Devin started to prefer the quiet nature of the theater as he worked, and was starting to understand why Rachel loved it so much. Thanks to Rachel's help, he was starting to get better with his artistic skills too. Ms. Philips started to take note, but once again gave him a small lecture. This time she told Devin that he couldn't get by in her class by just drawing buildings. He needed to create something with more emotion and something that would be a bit more complex than a building.

Things were starting to get a little more awkward for him with Trent too. Trent would come around and hang out with him and AmyLee more often. Rose was there too, but she was too far gone in her own thoughts to even notice him. Kirby was also starting to act a bit different. He still was keeping his distance from Devin and only really said a few words to him in gym class whenever the two were paired up. Devin didn't spend too much time on them though because he was too busy trying to keep Jimmy out of his hair. Ever since the conversation at the table about him beating up Ethan, Jimmy had been instigating him about things that he could do to get the favor of the bullies. Devin didn't know how to do any of that. He knew Jimmy was asking just because of Trent's behavior towards him, but Trent didn't really favor him, or at least he didn't think that Trent favored him. Beating up one bully didn't mean that they were all going to favor someone, so he didn't understand.

Devin checked his watch and saw that it was almost time for him to get going. He turned to Rachel and told him he had to start cleaning up, to which she told him to go ahead and head out. She would take care of the supplies. Devin walked over and admired her work as she was putting the finishing touches on another backdrop for the play.

"I don't think I will ever be able to keep up with you" Devin confessed looking over her work and making her smile.

"I'm sure in time you will. You're just new to all of this and still learning the ropes" she said as she looked up at Devin. He messy braid was off to one side and out of the way of her paint palate. Devin left the mini theater and got dressed in a long sleeve black shirt, with khakis pants and black shoes. He rushed out the door and headed towards the restaurant so he could start work and create a work schedule with Mr. Spair. When he got to the restaurant, it was uncomfortably warm and most of the tables were filled. As he approached the bar, he saw Mr. Spair look over and start to smile.

"You remembered" boomed out Mr. Spair's voice over the chatter buzzing through the restaurant.

"Yeah, but what's with all of these people?" Devin asked as he sat down at one of the stools.

"To be honest, that is something that I have to talk to you about" Mr. Spair said as he patted another worker behind the bar and motioned for Devin to follow him towards the back. Devin followed him, a little perplexed as to why all these people would be there because of him, but was interested in finding out more.

"Apparently," Mr. Spair started once they were away from all the chatter and could hear each other, "one of my regular couples that comes in told others about your little performance. It's been packed like this for the last few days. One of them even came up to the bar and asked when the live performances were going to be happening again." Devin just blushed a little as he listened and shook his head in disbelief.

"Did they really think the performance was that good?" Devin asked.

"Good enough to get more people here" Mr. Spair laughed out as he patted Devin on the back. "So, here's the new deal I would like to work out with you. I know that you are in school so your studies come first, but I would like for you to bust tables Monday, Tuesday, and Friday. On Wednesday and Thursday, I would like for you to perform for an hour or two up on the stage because those are usually our busier nights. Today is going to be a special performance day only because these ladies and gentlemen have been waiting for another performance. What say you?"

Devin looked back out at the amount of people gathered in the restaurant that were enjoying their meals and waiting before looking back at the owner. He shook his head as he brought his hand up to rest his forehead against it, unable to believe what he was about to say.

"I say, you got yourself a deal" Devin replied as he smiled up at Mr. Spair. Mr. Spair smiled and told Devin to head into the back and get the information that he needed from the other bust boy about his duties, and to be back out near the stage by seven. He was going to have Devin perform from seven to nine and then have him head home for the night. Devin nodded and headed in back to see a kid about his age running dishes through a dishwasher. When he had just closed the dishwasher, he turned around and saw Devin standing there.

"Ah, you must be the other bust boy" the boy said as he wiped his wet hands off on a towel. "The name is Duncan" he said before walking over to Devin.

"Devin" was all he could saw as the boy approached him.

"Well, Mr. Spair told me that I was going to be breaking down what happens back here to a newbie, so listen up. The waiters will peek back here to let us know which table is clear so we can go and clear it. After it is cleared and the table is wiped down, we bring all the dishes back here and separate them so that all the different dishes are in individual piles. It makes it easier for us when the dishwasher is done drying them, because all we need to do at that point is carry them over to their respected shelves to be used for the next customer. Once we are officially closed, we go out and give the tables one last wipe down. Thankfully, the waiters sweep the floors after closing so we don't have to. I have a feeling that you are a smart kid, so I don't think it will take you long to get the hand of things."

Devin nodded and thanked Duncan for giving him the rundown of the back of the kitchen. He also let Duncan know that he was only busting tables three days out of the week and gave him those days. He explained about how he was still in school and was enrolled at Bullworth Academy. This got a scoff from Duncan as he explained that the bullying there made him leave the school and he never went back. He knew that he wasn't going to be able to get by with hanging out around town, so he eventually applied for the bust boy position here at the restaurant. Luckily, Mr. Spair knew his family and gave him the benefit of the doubt. He has been working at the restaurant for a couple of months now, and decided to opt out of telling his townie buddies so they didn't pester him for cash.

"Are you ready to get to work?" Duncan asked with a smile as he went to go and grab an apron for Devin.

"Actually, Mr. Spair has me performing tonight since a lot of the customers have been waiting for one" Devin replied a little guilty for having to leave all the work tonight to Duncan.

"Oh" Duncan said a little sad as he put the apron back on the hook. "Good luck Devin. I'm sure I'll be able to hear you from back here." Devin thanked him and told him that he couldn't wait to start working with him tomorrow. This caused a small smile to creep across Duncan's face as he told Devin that tomorrow it is then. Devin walked back out into the main part of the restaurant and saw AmyLee and Rose looking around. He assumed that they were looking for him and started to head over to them.

"Hey there champ" AmyLee called over to him as she snapped her game and smiled.

"Are you performing again tonight?" Rose asked excitedly.

"Actually, I am!" Devin said with a smile. "Mr. Spair and I actually had a talk about how the customers are wanting more performances, so I will be performing Wednesdays and Thursdays. According to him, they are his busiest nights."

"Then why are you performing tonight?" AmyLee asked a little confused.

"In his words, he said today is a special performance night since the customers have been asking for one for the last couple of days" as Devin looked over to see Mr. Spair getting the machine turned on for him. It was getting close to seven.

"The rest of the gang will be here soon, we wanted to get her as quickly as possible so we didn't miss your performance" AmyLee said as she smiled over at Devin.

"I'm nothing special" Devin laughed out as he looked back over at AmyLee and Rose.

"Do you have an idea of what you are going to be singing tonight?" Rose asked as she started tapping her feet to a tempo of her own.

"I might keep the crowd on their feet by switching between happy and sad songs. I'm thinking the happy songs are going to make them want to get up and dance, while the sad songs are going to leave them sitting there deep in thought." AmyLee gave Devin as support pat on the shoulder before dragging Rose with her to the bar. Devin walked over to Mr. Spair who had finished getting the machine ready for him.

"I added a bunch of new songs for you to flip through, and figured you could take a few minutes between each song to relax. I don't think it would be good if you sang for the entire two hours that I want you performing. That's try and work in a half an hour break from eight to eight-thirty for you, and see how the customers feel about it." Devin nodded at Mr. Spair as he got up on stage to look through the new set of songs that he had added to the karaoke machine. He decided that he would start off with a rather fun one and selected a song by Fergie from The Great Gatsby called A Little Party Never Killed Nobody (All We Got). As the jazzy rhythm started to play throughout the restaurant, the customers started to look over. A few of them cheered to finally be getting the performance that they had been told about.

Collin and the rest of the thespians were just entering the restaurant when they heard to music start to play out. Rachel immediately knew that it was going to be Devin and broke away from Collin and hurried inside. Once she was inside, she didn't even have time to look around because she was grabbed by Rose. Rose started doing the Charleston with her, and Rachel didn't miss a beat as she started getting into the swing of things. Collin and everyone else walked in and looked over at the stage. Matthew silently prayed to God that Rachel had gone in before everyone else, because Rose was preoccupied with her and not him with dancing. Stephanie grabbed Ryan's hand and walked over to where Rose and Rachel where to start dancing with them. Trent, Jimmy, and Kriby watched until Collin told them that it was about time that they got to their table. Jimmy nodded and followed him and the others, as Trent and Kirby lingered a little before following them.

After the song was finished, Rose and Rachel broke apart laughing, and Stephanie broke away from Ryan as they were breathing a little heavy.

"Where did you learn to Charleston?" Rose asked excitedly to which Rachel told her a girl has to keep her secrets lest everyone find out about them. Stephanie and Ryan went to go and join the others as Rachel walked over to AmyLee with Rose.

"Are you coming to join us?" Rachel asked as she took a quick seat at the bar.

"Not yet. I want to see what his next music choice is going to be. He told Rose and I that he was going to switch between happy songs and sad songs." AmyLee watched as Devin hopped of the stage and run in the back. When he reemerged, he had a cup of water and was thanking someone that AmyLee recognized. Apparently, Rose recognized him too because she asked AmyLee if that was Duncan. AmyLee shook her head at the fact that of all the people this girl could remember the name of, it happened to one of the students who left Bullworth Academy. She gave Rose a faint nod and watched as Devin took a drink of water and get back up on stage. She watched as he flipped through a few songs on the karaoke machine until he settled on a song. He hit play and the saddening sound of a piano filled the restaurant.

"Oh, Sam Smith, how I love you!" Rachel sang out as she closed her eyes and started swaying to the beat.

"How can you tell just from the first few seconds!" AmyLee exclaimed as she listened to Devin start singing out Too Good at Goodbyes by Sam Smith.

"Before I asked Devin to start helping me with set designing, I would leave my music on shuffle and listen to it for hours. After a while you just get used to the intro and pick up on them" Rachel responded as she looked over at the backroom and saw Kirby standing and watching Devin perform.

"I wonder what he is up to?" Rachel asked suspiciously as the other girls looked in her direction and saw Kirby staring.

"I don't know, but word from Jimmy is Kirby can't manage to beat Devin when they are wrestling" AmyLee spoke up as she turned her attention back to Devin. Watching as the passion of lyrics started to hit her. She felt someone grab her hand and looked up to see Rose trying to pull her off her stool to dance.

"Not on your life sweet heart" AmyLee stated flatly before ripping her hand away from Rose. Rachel started to laugh and got up from the stool to head over towards the back room. The boys and few girls had all already ordered, so Rachel placed her order with Michael and told him that he could find Rose and AmyLee over near the bar. He thanked her before leaving to go and get the last two orders. Rachel looked around to see that everyone was doing their usually, until her eyes fell upon Trent. Trent looked to be staring off into the distance, so she decided to follow his gaze and noticed that Kirby was in his line of sight. She turned back to Trent to see him staring right back at her before averting his gaze and looking around at the others.

After Devin finished singing, he looked at his watch to see that it was only a little past seven-twenty. He figured he could take a five-minute break, and made his way into the back again to see a very enthusiastic Duncan.

"Dude, was that really you singing out there?" He asked as he started to stack up plates that were done drying.

"Yeah" Devin sheepishly admitted as he watched the boy work.

"I take it that wasn't your first time performing then?" Duncan asked as he worked his way past Devin to put the plates away.

"I used to perform back at my old school before my parents transferred me to BullWorth. It was a lot easier there because not many people came out to see our performances except the student's parents and some of our teachers. Here it is a completely different story." Duncan started to chuckle as he listened to Devin. He told him to remember that things could always be worse, to which Devin nodded and checked his watch. It was about time for him to get back and left Duncan to continue with his work. Devin walked back up onto the stage and started sorting through songs again until he found one started playing it. It continued like that until it was finally eight and Mr. Spair walked up to him letting him know that he could take his long break. Devin decided to head into the back room and sat down next to one of the girls that he learned was named Christy. The tall red-head was trying out for her first play and was excited yet nervous. She had seen the drama club put on plays, but never dared to try out for one until now.

"You did a great job singing" she said low enough for Devin to hear but no one else around them.

"Thanks" he responded as he looked over to see Trent and Cornelius, the boy who had been bullied by Ethan, in a heated argument about the different roles in the play. Apparently, Cornelius thought that he would be the best match to play the mother in the play since traditionally it is always played by a male and he did a good job as Juliet when they did Romeo and Juliet. Trent fought back saying that he was only given that role because he whined and begged Miss Peters to give it to him. There were more suitable candidates that could have taken the role.

Devin shook his head as he listened on to the conversation, until it reached a boiling point and Collin stepped in. Once he raised his voice, everyone quieted down. Christy giggled a little and Devin started to giggle with her. Devin was never one to be able to act as serious as he wanted to when he needed to. Collin looked down at them and gave them a look, which made Christy start to laugh a little harder. Devin started laughing as well and he heard a few others around the table start to join in. Eventually, everyone but Jimmy and Collin were laughing and started chatting again. AmyLee saddled up next to Devin and let him steal a few bites off her plate. She also did it as a way to seem like she was just sharing her food, but had an ulterior motive. As Devin chewed the food, AmyLee leaned in close and warned him about what she overheard from the group when she first walked into the back room.

Apparently, Collin was starting to get a little tired of Devin and Jimmy was sharing his sentiments with Collin. Devin just shook his head and told AmyLee that if it means a gain for him, it means that he is in on the deal. AmyLee nodded and looked over to see Collin and Jimmy whispering to each other again.

"Your best bet is to prepare yourself for anything" AmyLee said as she took a bite of her food.

"Yeah, but I usually end up hanging out with the same group every day. I don't know very many kids" Devin said as he turned to look at AmyLee. AmyLee pondered up an idea as she started to chew her food.

"After you're done working, meet up with me and Rose. We will give you a run-down of the different cliques to see if maybe we can find you some allies" AmyLee said as she walked back over to her seat. Devin gave her a nod as Rose came over and smiled at him.

"Devin, do you think I could sing a song with you when you go back up on stage? I've been dying to sing one for a group since I first saw you up there last week." He smiled and said sure as he looked back down at his watch. It was getting closed to eight-thirty, so he told Rose to come with him. The two of them walked up to Mr. Spair so Devin could get his approval to have Rose join him for a song. He was fine with it, so long as Rose didn't expect to get paid for performing with me. Being the spaced-out person she was, she told him she was fine with that. As they got up on the stage, Devin asked Rose how she felt about Rihanna, to which she replied she was unfamiliar with Nirvana. Devin just shook his head and decided to take a different approach.

"Do you like the song Too Good?" he asked as he looked over at Rose.

"I love Drake!" she exclaimed as she smiled over at him.

"So, you'll be okay doing Rihanna's part?" he asked.

"Of course!" she said excitedly and grabbed her microphone. Devin shook his head again and hit the play button. Everyone seemed to enjoy the two as they started to sing. Rose would occasionally dance around as she sang getting Devin to join her a little. AmyLee had finished her food and came back out to watch the two of them finish their performance. Rachel walked out as well with Christy, Pinky and Stephanie.

"Were the boys becoming too much for you?" AmyLee joked as she patted the bar stools next to her.

"I felt like I was starting to lose braincells listening to them start to argue again" Stephanie replied as she started to rub her temple.

"Is this how it always is with men of poverty?" Pinky asked as she got up on a bar stool.

"Be sure to watch what you say around us" AmyLee spat out as she glared at Pinky. She wasn't too fond of preps, but knew she had to respect whoever was auditioning for the plays. She, much like Devin, did not want to have any uncomfortable moments dealing with these people for the next few weeks. Luckily, roles would be assigned in a few days and they would see who all were actually going to be in the play. If they were lucky enough, Pinky would be a background character.

"I was just asking a question" Pinky grumbled as she turned her attention to a very tired Rose. She came over and wrapped Rachel up in a hug and started giggling.

"Did you see me perform with Devin?" She asked almost out of breath.

"I saw some of it" Rachel responded honestly as she just laughed and got up in her chair. They were all laughing and joking around as the listened to Devin start up a sad song and start to sing. They were all pulled out of their thoughts when Christy spoke.

"Did you guys hear about the fight?" Everyone just looked over at Christy and shook their heads.

"Apparently, Jimmy fought Russell and beat him. Russell's really tough so I was shocked to hear Jimmy beat him." AmyLee just shook her head and started to laugh.

"Why are you laughing?" Pinky asked as she shot AmyLee a look.

"Because I don't think the boys know how to do anything but fight, but then someone new comes through like Devin" AmyLee responded as she went back to listening to him sing.

"Weren't you guys talking about how he beat up Ethan last week at dinner?" Pinky asked.

"Yeah, but that wasn't a test of who was better than who" Rachel said as she laughed.

"I don't know what his gain is, but we best keep our eyes open" AmyLee suggested as the girls all nodded. They sat there and talked about the roles that they were each auditioning for, and AmyLee had to laugh when Pinky told them all she was trying for Amber. Rachel leaned over and told AmyLee that she would be perfect for the role of Amber, causing AmyLee to laugh even louder. After a few more songs, Devin was officially done for the night and took his glass back to Duncan.

"Thanks for the water" Devin said as he started to leave.

"Don't mention it. I look forward to working with you tomorrow" Duncan said as he watched Devin leave. He said goodbye to Mr. Spair and left with AmyLee and Rose after they paid their bills. Rachel tried to ask them where they were off to, but AmyLee shook her head to Devin. She didn't think that it would be a good idea to tell her that they were trying to get him ready in case her boyfriend had anything planned. Rose spoke out for them, but luckily, she threw out the perfect excuse.

"AmyLee and Devin didn't finish their English work in class the other day, so I'm going to help them try and finish it." Rachel seemed to buy what she said and went back to talking with Pinky, Christy, and Stephanie until the guys were ready. AmyLee thought it was best for them to do their work in the library, so they grabbed some poster board and headed over to the library. The librarian behind the desk looked at them as they entered and dismissed them since it looked like they were coming in to work on a project. AmyLee set up the poster board as Rose handed her the markers. AmyLee started to draw out the six different cliques on campus and off to the side put in the students that didn't affiliate themselves with any clique.

"So, as we heard from Christy earlier, Jimmy has beaten Russell. Russell is the leader of the bullies, and with him favoring Jimmy, there is a good chance that the other bullies will favor him as well." Rose interjected, making AmyLee glare at her, but she brought up the fact that Trent seemed to be hanging around them a lot more than his bully friends.

"That's actually a good point Rose" AmyLee admitted as she drew a small circle with Jimmy's name and a small circle with Devin's name. She drew a line from the Bully bubble and aimed it at Jimmy's circle, and drew a separate line from Trent's name to Devin's circle. "These odds are staggering" AmyLee said making Devin giggle a little. AmyLee turned to him and gave him a look making him go quiet.

"Why are you laughing? This could be serious" AmyLee stated as she looked Devin over.

"I can't help it AmyLee. You're very blunt when it comes to things and hearing you tell me that the odds were against me is just something I saw coming" Devin replied as he started to giggle again.

"Next up are the preps" Rose chimed in as she gave AmyLee a new colored marker.

"That's correct," AmyLee began as she started to write down names. "Their leader is a blonde-haired richy rich by the name of Derby. Their heavy hitter is Bif. Now that boy is about the size of Russell and also has red hair. I've never seen so many giant red heads all in one place, but this school somehow managed to bring them all together. Derby has his followers, just like Collin has his boys. There are Bryce, Chad, Justin, Parker and Tad. I leave out Gord because he is one of Derby's preppy followers, but he is probably going to be your way into their little social group. He is obsessed with his clothes much like you like brand name items. The quickest way to get them to notice you though is by going to the boxing gym in town. The preps find boxing to be some royal shit thing that goes along with their class act. Honestly, just hit them harder than they hit you and make sure to know them on their asses. It probably won't take Jimmy long to find that this is the way to take them on, but Jimmy isn't very bright to begin with. I mean he decided that Gary was a friend when he got here."

Rose started giggling as she started doodling all over another one of the poster boards. It brought AmyLee out of her rant as she turned to look at her with a little bit of heat coming off of her. When Rose looked over at her, AmyLee faked a smile.

"Am I interrupting?" AmyLee asked in a sickly-sweet voice.

"Of course not" Rose responded as she smiled.

"Then stop dicking around!" AmyLee said as she snatched the marker from Rose making the girl giggle a little more.

"You want to be mad at me, but I know you're just choking around" Rose said as she started counting her fingers and naming off the cliques. "Next up with be the Greasers."

"Thank God you are good for something" AmyLee said with a hint of annoyance in her voice as she started listing out all of the greasers' names.

"So, what's the rundown on this group" Devin asked as he watched AmyLee. She turned to him and then put a big 'X' through their entire bubble.

"There is no rundown because these grease balls aren't worth the gel that they run through their hair. Even though you are gay, oh Johnny boy is going to pester you about putting the moves on his slut of a girlfriend, Lola. The only greaser who might be worth your time is Vance. I've had my eye on him ever since I got here because he is the only greaser who isn't scared to associate with the other cliques. All the other greasers stick to each other like their hair with all that disgusting gel in it."

"Tell me how you really feel" Devin joked as he got a look from AmyLee that told him there wasn't enough time in the day for her to do that.

"Who is up next?" AmyLee asked Rose as the airhead bit her lip and started to think.

"The nerds?" She asked as AmyLee grabbed another marker and started to write all their names out.

"The nerds are a tricky bunch. Jimmy has already helped them out, but he has yet to gain their loyalty. The thing about the nerds is life to them, is like a night of Grottos and Gremlins. They have no problem making a deal with you, but also have no problem turning on you when things go south. The nerds like to seem weak, but their means of attack is what sets them about the rest. Obviously, when they lack in brawn, they make up for with brains. Earnest is their leader and is pretty easy going. The fact that Cornelius is in the drama club will help you work your way into their group."

"I've played a little bit of Grottos and Gremlins at my old school, so I'm sure that'll help me as well" Devin added in getting a sad look from AmyLee. She just placed her hand on her head and shook it.

"Do you remember when I asked you if there was anything else you hadn't told me yet?" AmyLee asked.

"Yeah" Devin replied.

"That is something you should have brought up then." AmyLee went through and started drawing some more arrows. She had two bubbles left to fill out and Devin figured she was leaving out the Thespians because they would all obviously flock to Collin.

"Who should we do next?" AmyLee asked Rose as she pulled herself away from her drawing again to think.

"How about the Jocks?" She suggested as she handed AmyLee a new marker.

"That's another easy one" AmyLee said as she wrote out all of their names and put an 'X' through their bubble. "The jocks are a single braincell away from mistaking a rat turd for a raisin. The fact that a few of them actually have decent grades, scares me and shakes me to my core. Lest we forget that every gym class you manage to turn Kirby into a laughing stock around his buddies. Muscular mister wide receiver can't even manage to put a drama geek on his back. Also, the jocks in general had the personality of a wet match. They think they're hot, but one little blow to their ego and they are out."

Devin nodded as he thought about Kirby. He wasn't really all the weak. He just didn't know how to use his weight to his advantage on the mat. It's probably why he mostly sticks to football as his main sport.

"Last but not least is the townies" AmyLee exclaimed as she grabbed a marker from the box.

"My favorites!" Rose chimed in as she finished her drawing.

"You only like them because they are no longer on campus" AmyLee interjected causing the other girl to giggle. "Me thinks she has been spending too much time with me" AmyLee giggled as she started to write down all of their names.

"Honestly, they are another group to steer clear from, but you're going to be working with Duncan at the restaurant. Your best course of action is to try and keep him on your side. Townies are very easily persuaded because they have nothing else to lose. The serve no loyalty to no one but each other. They are those 'I got your back bro' kind of guys because no one else will watch them."

Devin nodded as he looked at the chart and noticed that Jimmy still had more arrows pointing at his name.

"The odds are still not in my favor" Devin chuckled out.

"Sadly, that is what it looks like, but at least you have a chance to gain someone from each of the cliques, minus the jocks" AmyLee added as she circled a name from each bubble, minus the jocks.

"Not to mention you know the girls will be on your side" Rose added as she wrote down herself, AmyLee, and Rachel under Devin's name.

"What are three girls and a gay going to do against a group of boys?" AmyLee asked sarcastically.

"The possibilities are endless" Rose said as she smiled and started to put the markers away.

"I don't know if I want to know what she is thinking" AmyLee said as she raked her hand over her face and sighed.

"Well, I mean I could turn up my flirt game and make the guys super uncomfortable" Devin said as he started to laugh. "Guys are so particular about proving their masculinity, that it would freak them out if a guy started hitting on them. Either that or that would start hitting on me and not in a fun way."

"I wouldn't even try it at this school. You never know who might actually go along with your flirting" AmyLee said as she gathered up her poster board. The three of them left the library and were laughing as they discussed random topics. They said their goodbyes and went their separate ways. Devin walked into his room and once again found someone in there like the previous night. This time it wasn't Jimmy, which made Devin happy, but it was Kirby.

"What are you doing in here?" Devin asked with his tone sounding a little harsher than he wanted it to. Kirby looked at his feet and averted his eyes from Devin's. It made Devin giggle a little because the amount of silence told him that Kirby needed help. He knew how hard this was going to be for the kid because he was not one to ask others for help.

Eventually Kirby gave in and swallowed his pride before looking back up at Devin. "I need help with my singing in order to get a decent part in the play. I'm not big on singing, or even plays for the matter, but the school called my mom and told her about what I did. They also told her about my punishment, and now she is expecting to come here to watch my performance. I just don't want to end up as a background character that just fills in when an extra person is needed."

Devin listened to Kirby's plea and walked over to his closet. He changed out of his work clothes and into a pair of lounge pants and a sweatshirt. "If we are doing this, we aren't doing it here" Devin said as he walked over to Kirby. Kirby made a face that showed that he was glad, but also a little scared. He was glad that Devin had recommended they go elsewhere, but he was scared for someone to hear him try and sing.

"Where do you propose we go?" Kirby asked as he started to head out of Devin's room.

"Somewhere where the surrounding area will give us amazing acoustics" Devin replied as the snuck out of the boy's dorm. It was past curfew, so they were going to have to sneak around.

"I might have a place in mind," Kirby said as he looked around to see if there were any prefects around. "I hope you can keep up he said" as the two of them started to head towards the mystery location that Kirby seemed to know. Devin managed to keep up with Kirby as they came up to a door they led to the basement of the school.

"The basement?" Devin asked as Kirby got the door open.

"Yeah, this is where I watched Jimmy fight Russell. When Gary was doing the announcing, it had a nice ring to it because of the surrounding area." Devin just shrugged and decided to trust in what Kirby was saying. They made their way through the basement until they got to an area that looked like a boxing ring.

"So, how many people knew about this fight?" Devin asked.

"Gary made sure that a bunch of us knew," Kirby started as he climbed down the ladder and into the ring. "I think the only people who surprised me that were here were Earnest and Collin."

"Collin and the head of the nerd clique were there?" Devin asked surprised.

"That's exactly what my head was screaming when I looked over and saw them" Kirby said as he watched Devin climb down on the ladder. Devin looked around the room and saw how spacious it was. He was a little surprised that it was so cold down there since the boiler room was right next to them. Kirby started to get a little nervous as he realized that soon he was going to be singing in front of someone else.

"Do you want to do a solo and have me listen, or do a duet?" Devin asked as Kirby looked at the floor trying to think.

"I don't know if I'm confident in myself yet to be singing a solo, so how about we do a duet." His response made Devin smile as he started to blush. Devin was only smiling because he was happy with Kirby's honest response.

"My next question is whether you want to lead the song or not?" Devin asked as he started to roll up the sleeves of his sweatshirt.

"I think you should lead" Kirby said as he started to fidget with his hands. Devin surprised him by walking up to him and grabbing his hands. The touch was foreign to Kirby and he instantly froze.

"You need to relax" Devin said in a calm voice as he held onto Kirby's hands. "The more you fidget, the worse it is going to get and your voice is going to shake from the movement. Just take some deep breaths with me" Devin said as he started to inhale. Kirby looked down at Devin's hands holding his at rest. He wanted nothing more than to fidget harder than he was earlier. He heard Devin exhale loudly and decided to join him on his next inhale. The two seemed to synchronize as they started to inhale and exhale a few more times.

"Better?" Devin asked as he released Kirby's hands and smiled.

"Yeah" Kirby responded as he blushed a little.

"I guess the real question is if you have a song in mind" Devin said as he put some space between him and Kirby to ease his nerves a little more.

"I'm not sure, unless you have any recommendations" Kirby said trying to fight the urge to go back to fidgeting.

"Are you familiar with Closer by The Chainsmokers?" Devin asked as he saw Kirby shake his head. "Good! I'll have you do Halsey's part then." With that Devin took a few minutes to prepare himself before looking at Kirby and asking if he was ready. Kirby nodded and Devin started to sing his part. When he first started, he was a little soft, but as he continued with the lyrics his voice started to rise. The words swarmed around them and started to fill the room as Devin to sing his part. As he hit the chorus, he made direct eye contact with Kirby. The boy never pulled away from his gaze as the chorus came to an end and he hand to prepare for his part. Kirby started to sing, and started off a little off key. Devin unintentionally made a face which caused a hiccup in Kirby's voice. His voice started to get shaky as his nerves set in and he inevitably started to fidget with his hands again. Devin immediately caught on to what was happening and walked back over to Kirby and grabbed his hands.

"Just sing" Devin said in a calm and cool tone. Kirby closed his eyes and started to sing. His voice started to change as he started to get more on key. He tried to fight his hands away from Devin, but found that Devin had them in a pretty tight grip. As he started to approach the chorus, Devin moved a little closer and started to harmonize with him. The words danced around the room as their voices filled the quiet space. The lyrics seemed to pour out of their mouths as Kirby started to fight his nerves and fill his confidence come back. It wasn't quite like the confidence that he felt when he was out on the football field, but it was enough to make him believe that he could do this.

Devin started to smile as they were approaching the end of the song. Surprisingly, they finished strong and Devin released Kirby's hands. Kirby opened his eyes and started to smile as well.

"That was freaking amazing" Devin cried out as he looked around the room. He couldn't believe that there was a place with such good acoustics on campus. He turned back around to face Kirby.

"You did amaz…" Devin trailed off as he felt a pair of soft lips crash down upon his. Without even thinking Devin started to kiss back and wrap his arms around the boy. Kirby held him close, before he jolted back and pushed Devin away. Devin opened his eyes to see a very flustered Kirby wiping off his lips. Before he could make sense of what just happened, Kirby turned and climbed up the ladder as quickly as he could.

"Wait!" Devin called out trying to catch up to Kirby, but he was already out of the room before he could even get up the ladder. ' _Damn jocks and their speed_ ' Devin thought to himself as he slumped down against the cage and shook his head. He didn't even know what any of that was about, nor did he know if he would every find out because Kirby was such a mystery to him. He let out a deep sigh and pulled himself up to his feet. ' _No point in losing sleep over this_ ' Devin thought to himself as he made his way out of the basement. He looked around to make sure there were no prefects around before scurrying his way back to the boy's dorm. He silently made his way to his room, and was secretly hoping Kirby would be there. He just wanted an explanation, but that would be asking for too much as he got to his room and found it empty. He flopped down on his bed and didn't bother taking his sweatshirt and lounge pants off. Devin tossed and turned all night until the inevitably took over and he passed out.


	4. Chapter 4

Devin was shaken from his sleep from a very strong pair of hands. When he opened his eyes all he saw at first was blonde hair. As he started to move around a bit more, he rubbed the sleep from his eyes and look up. With his eyes now starting to adjust he saw that Trent was standing above him. He didn't know why Trent was in his room, but then he heard the shrill sound of his alarm clock. He rolled over and turned it off before sitting up on the side of his bed.

"Sorry if I spooked you" Trent said as he stood next to Devin's bed. "I was just getting sick and tired of hearing you damn alarm going off. It's been ringing since I went in to take a shower."

"I guess I stayed up too late last night" Devin said as he started to scratch at the back of his neck.

"What classes do you have today?" Trent asked trying to keep the conversation going. Devin thought about it and realized that he had gym today, and he knew that Kirby would be there. As he thought about Kirby, he thought about what had transpired last night. He quickly shook the memory away and started to stretch.

"Doesn't matter, I don't feel like going today" Devin replied as he stood up to finishing stretching.

"Mister Straight A isn't going to classes today?" Trent asked as he started to laugh.

"Even a diligent student misses' classes" Devin said as he walked over to his closet to get an outfit ready. He decided on one of his tight-fitting button downs and khakis pants. Since he wasn't going to be in class, his best bet was to get off campus and head into town. He remembered the conversation he had last night with AmyLee and decided he was going to try and spend the day at the boxing gym. Eventually Gord would be there for him to try and wow with his brand name clothes. Trent just watched him as he pulled out his outfit and a pair of boxers.

"Well I guess if you're sure about skipping, I'll see you around. Some of us can't afford to miss a class." Trent said farewell and went on his way as Devin made his way into the bathroom to shower. Since classes were just about to start the bathroom was completely empty. He hopped into the shower and started to clean himself off. The constant pressure of the water out of the showerhead felt nice and hypnotizing to Devin. He leaned against the wall and thought about last night again. He brought his hand up to his lips and touched them. ' _Why did he kiss me?'_ Devin thought to himself as he went back to finishing up his shower. Once he was done, he pulled on his clothes and gave himself a once over in the mirror. He felt unstoppable in his outfit as he grabbed his shower stuff and took it back to his room.

As he stepped outside, he looked around to see if any of the prefects were around. Again, he was lucky enough to not see any, so he made his way out of the front gate. He was surprised to see other students around in town while walking around to find the gym. AmyLee forgot to tell him exactly where the gym was, so he was practically on a wild goose chase. While trying to find his way, he ran in Duncan and a few of the others from the townie clique.

"Yo Devin, what are you doing in town?" Duncan yelled over to him as he started to approach him.

"Am I not allowed to be a bad apple for once?" Devin joked with him as the townie smiled.

"I guess you are a student at the prestigious Bullworth Academy" Duncan mocked as he shook his head laughing. Devin laughed as well before he looked around at Duncan's friends.

"I don't mean to say hi and bye, but I'm looking for the preps boxing gym. Do you think you could point me in the right direction?" Devin asked as he gave Duncan his best smile. Duncan smiled back before looking up as if he was thinking.

"I think I might know where it is, but it'll cost you" Duncan said as he smiled back at Devin.

Devin, thinking on his feet, told Duncan that he would clear most of the tables tonight to give him a chance to relax in the back. Duncan didn't see a problem with that and accepted the deal before pointing in the direction of the gym for Devin. Devin thanked him and told him that he would see him later. The direction that Duncan told him to go, in fact led to the boxing gym so Devin was thankful. Once he entered, there were already a few boys there punching at some punching bags. Devin made his way around and a bit perplexed. The boys never took their attention away from what they were doing, so it was like he had never entered the gym to begin with. Devin decided to look around the place to get an idea of what the boxing gym was like. There weren't very many punching bags, and they had a ring, but there were hardly any chairs around it. One would think that a boxing gym for spoiled rich kids would like a bit better, but beggars couldn't be choosers.

Devin was looking over a poster when he saw a shadow looming over him. "Can I help you?" asked someone in a rather venomous tone. Devin turned around and was staring up at a really tall red head.

"I was just looking for someone" Devin spat out at the taller boy with a hint of his nerves showing. "From what I've been told, your name is most likely Bif"

"Well we both know who I am, but who the hell are you?" Bif asked easing back a little.

"The name is Devin. My friend told me that I could find a guy named Gord here."

"What the hell do you want with Gord?" Bif asked a little surprised that this kid knew their names, yet he hadn't seen him in any of his classes.

"Word on the street is he's the guy to go to when you're interested in brand name clothes" Devin lied as Bif started to give him a once over.

"I don't know who you've been talking to, but Gord is in biology right now. He won't be here until after his class is done" Bif stated as he started to walk away.

"Wait!" Devin called after him, making the big guy turn around to look at him. "Another reason why I came here is because I want to learn how to box." Upon hearing this, Bif cocked up one of his eyebrows and gave Devin a hard look before shrugging.

"I don't know if you'd want me teaching you, but I could give you some pointers. Go grab a uniform and meet me at the punching bags." Devin smiled as he ran over to where the uniforms were and got changed into one. He slipped on the gloves and struggled to strap them on. Bif realized this and walked over to help him secure his gloves. Bif giggled to himself when he realized how inexperienced Devin was and made a change of plans for the kid.

"Hey Parker" he called out as another prep came jogging over to them in his boxing uniform. "Go get in the ring and show our rookie the ropes."

"I thought you were going to teach me over at the punching bags" Devin insisted as he looked at up at Bif.

"I changed my mind. I have to know what you're working with before I can help you" Bif said with an evil grin before he pushed Devin towards the ring. Devin reluctantly climbed up into the ring and stared over at his opponent. His black hard has combed over to one side, but his face was covered in sweat from practicing his punches earlier. Devin looked over at Bif, who rang the bell signaling the two in the ring to start. Before Devin could even make sense of what to do, Parker landed two jabs and a right hook, causing him to fall onto his ass. Devin picked himself back up and saw Parker go in for an uppercut, so Devin blocked and was knocked back at little bit. Devin continued to block the next couple of punches unsure of when to make his move. Parker was quicker than him and had experience in the ring; however, Devin seized his opportunity when Parker reeled back was a big hit and missed Devin as he knocked.

With his opponent's balance offset, Devin landed 3 jabs in a row, followed up by a hook, and then he ended the set with an uppercut. The force of his blows knocked Parker back, and gained the attention of the few people who were in the gym at the time. Parker was angry about being deceived, so he beat his gloves together and charged at Devin. Devin managed to block the first two punches, but then Parker hooked him in the side, causing him to lower his arms to his exposed side. Parker landed a straight jab before the bell rang to signify the end of the round. Devin walked over to a corner and sat down for a quick second. He strategized a good combination, but he needed to get Parker to attempt more big hits. It was going to be his only chance of winning the match.

"Gonna give up champ?" Bif asked in a smug voice as he looked at the cut above Devin's eyebrow.

"No way in hell" Devin spat out before he turned his attention back over to Parker. Bif laughed as he walked back over to the bell and rang it to announce the beginning of the second round. Devin stood up and made his way to the middle of the ring, where Parker met him. Devin got the upper hand in the beginning of the round by landing a jab and two hooks. One of the hooks made Parker lean towards Devin a little exposing more of his face. Devin took advantage of the opening and landed another three jabs before pushing parker away. Parkers left eye was starting to swell a little bit as he danced around the ring a little to psych himself up. He feinted with his right, making Devin protect his right side, before he came in with a hook from the left. He followed up the hit with an uppercut sending Devin back a few steps.

Parker ran up to try and gain momentum and reeled back for another big hit; however, Devin saw it coming and ducked out of the way. With his balance once again offset, Devin hit Parker in his side with 3 hard jabs. The prep moved to try and protect his side and left his face completely uncovered. Devin hooked Parker on both sides of his face before watching the boy teeter a little. Devin reeled back this time and landed a hard uppercut sending Parker to the mat. The boy surrounding the ring could hardly believe what they had just watched and started to cheer. Devin was so proud of himself. His first time in the ring and if ended with a knockout. Bif stared on in complete shock as Devin climbed down from the ring and walked over to him.

"Did you get an idea on what I'm working with?" Devin asked smugly. Bif just grumbled to himself as he watched Devin strut over to change out of his boxing uniform. While he was changing, Devin washed up and tended to the cut about his eyebrow. He hissed as it started to sting and heard a chuckle come from behind him. He turned around quickly and was looking at a boy not much taller than him.

"I'll take it you're the slugger Bif said was looking for me?" the boy asked as he started to approach Devin.

"You must be Gord then?" Devin asked as he grabbed a towel to dry his hands off.

"That would be me" the boy said as he started to laugh. He continued to stare at Devin and smiled to himself and the boy got a very unnerved feeling. He raised his eyebrow and asked Gord if he saw something he liked.

"Just admiring the view" he replied smugly as nodded towards the mirror enticing Devin to look. Devin turned to the mirror and realized he had only but his boxers and undershirt on. The boy blushed so hard that his ear felt like they were on fire. He quickly pulled on his pants and shirt, but left his shirt unbuttoned for the time being so he could cool down. Gord had approached him at the point and started to walk around him and check him out.

"Bif said you wanted to talk to me about brand names, but it seems to me that you're quite familiar with brand names. Why don't you tell me why you're really here?" Gord stated before pushing Devin up against the wall. It wasn't a threatening push or anything, it was just Gord's way of having a little bit of fun with the boy. Devin started to feel a little hot as his face flushed again. It hadn't even been twenty-four hours and he already had another boy dangerously close to him. He could feel his heart start to beat a little faster and felt Gord place his hand on his chest.

"My, my, my" he chuckled, "You're like a mouse caught in a trap with a hungry cat lying in wait. No need to be nervous, I'm just wondering why you specifically wanted me I didn't even know that you existed until today." Devin closed his eyes as he felt Gord move in close and made sure that his head was a few inches away from his. "Fear never smelled so good" Gord said as he pulled his hand away from Devin's chest. Devin swallowed hard as he found his voice.

"My friend told me about you and said that you had a liking for brand names. She knew that I liked brand names too and suggested I talk to you about them." Devin sighed a breath of relief when he felt Gord pull away from him and giggle.

"How interesting that someone knows me so well, yet I've probably never given your friend the time of day" Gord gloated. "Your friend would be correct, and I do have to say that I'm impressed with the brand names that you are wearing. They let me know that you're not from this area, because I know all the brand names in this area." Devin started to smile. Even when he was nervous, the minute someone started to talk about clothes, it was like nothing else mattered.

"I wouldn't mind getting familiar with the brand names in this area" Devin stated as he started to button up his shirt.

"Play your cards right and I might be willing to show you where they are and how to get the best deals" Gord said as he watched Devin button up his shirt. As he was getting closer to the top, Gord walked over and grabbed his hands. "Leave a little open. You don't want to overheat after the fight. Chad told me you were quite the heavy hitter out there."

"Chad?" Devin asked as he looked down at his chest to see that his shirt was making a perfect 'V' and the bottom point was right in the middle of his chest.

"One of the onlookers. He also said Bif was pretty upset that Parker lost" Gord chuckled as he motioned for Devin to accompany him out of the room. Devin walked with him and started to talk to him about his struggles in the beginning of the match. Gord nodded as he listened which surprised Devin because he didn't think Gord would be that interested in it. As they started to approach the ring, they heard the door open and in walked Jimmy. Devin's voice got caught as the Gord seemed pleased and started to walk towards Jimmy.

"I'm surprised you came" Gord said as he laughed at Jimmy.

"Don't get too excited" Jimmy said as he scanned the room and looked at Devin. "What the hell is he doing here?"

"He was engaging in the royal art of boxing" Gord said as he turned back to Devin and smiled.

"I think I should get going. I'll see you around Gord" Devin said as he rushed past Gord and Jimmy. Gord watched him leave a little perplexed as Jimmy decided to walk around the gym and look around. Once he was outside, Devin leaned up against the side of the gym and signed.

"Hey man!" he heard a familiar voice yell as he looked over to see Trent with Rose and AmyLee. As the got closer, Devin said hello back and tried to hide his face. Unfortunately, Trent was stronger than he was and immediately pulled his hands away.

"Dude, what the fuck happened to you?" AmyLee asked as she watched Trent grab onto Devin's face to examine the wound.

"It's just a scratch from a fight" Devin replied trying to push Trent's hands away.

"You should probably have the nurse patch you up" AmyLee said as she slapped Trent's hands away. He brought them to his chest defensively and shot her a look.

"Who did you fight?" Rose asked as she walked over and laid her head on Devin's shoulder and started leading him back towards the school.

"Bif was supposed to teach me using the punching bags, but instead put me in the ring against Parker."

"I'm surprised you walked away with just a cut" Trent said as he started walking with them back to the school.

"Usually people joke around about how you should see the other guy, but this is one of those times where it is the truth" Devin said as he started to chuckle.

"Please tell me you fucked his rich ass up" AmyLee exclaimed as she thought about how she would be seeing Parker in her afternoon class tomorrow.

"I don't know if he'll have any bruises, but I do remember his left eye was starting to swell up during the fight" Devin replied with a toothy smile. AmyLee smiled back and Rose gave a little chuckle.

"Hard to believe a little runt like you beat Ethan, can take down Kirby, and you now have knocked out a prep like Parker" Trent said as he ruffled Devin's hair.

"Be careful who you call a runt" Devin said as he pulled away from Trent. They all started to laugh as they arrived back on campus. Devin checked his watched and noticed that he had an hour and forty-five minutes before he had to head to work. He made his way to the nurse to get patched up like AmyLee suggested as, Rose, her and Trent waited outside for him.

"You know, you never told us why you ratted on Devin's whereabouts" AmyLee said as she looked at the wall in front of her.

"I always see you guys together and figured you would be wondering where he was today" Trent replied as he rubbed his arm a little. "You guys have been inseparable since classes started. You barely even knew the kid and yet here you two are."

"Well I did tell him on day one that he and I were going to be best friends" AmyLee said as she turned to Rose. "This one is just a leech who clings to me wherever I go, so she was bound to start hanging out with us."

"You say that like it's a bad thing" Rose whined as she started to pout.

"You know I love your company" AmyLee said as she gave Rose a hug. "I mean who else could make me look smarter than you." Rose started to smile until she heard the last part and started to pout again. Rose's pouting face made Trent and AmyLee start to laugh as the three of them sighed.

"I guess what I should be saying to you is thank you" AmyLee admitted as she looked down the hall in the opposite direction of Trent and Rose. "I kinda was pissed when Devin didn't come to English today, but then he never showed up to help theater to help Rachel. I had a moment of panic that he got in trouble or something."

"He keeps knocking kids out, he just might get in trouble" Trent joked making them all laugh. Trent wasn't too good with sentiments and emotions. He wanted to try and change the conversation away from where it was heading. The hallway got kind of quiet as the three of them waited for Devin. They didn't think it would take so long for the nurse to take care of one cut.

"So how long have you liked him?" Rose asked out loud getting a confused look from both AmyLee and Trent.

"What the hell are you talking about Rose?" AmyLee asked annoyed that she would even fathom the idea of her liking Trent.

"Trent liking Ethan" Rose simply stated as she now received a shocked look from AmyLee and a deer in headlight look from Trent.

"I..uh..I don't know what you are talking about" Trent muttered as he nervously pushed his hands into his pockets.

"You could've fooled me" Rose said as she started to giggle and look up at Trent. AmyLee looked over at Trent as well and then back at Rose. Apparently, she bought what Trent was saying, because the airhead went back to her own little world. AmyLee was about to say something when the door opened and Devin walked out. He had a big band-air covering his cut and was smiling as he thanked the nurse. Once the door was closed, Devin started to roll his eyes and shake his head.

"You would think the nurse would know where her band-aids would be located since she is the only one in there" he said in an annoyed tone. He looked over at his friends and thanked them for waiting. He didn't want to upset them but he excused himself from them so he could go and shower before work. Devin was still feeling a little disgusting after working up a sweat from boxing. Rose decided to head off with him and AmyLee was about to follow them when she heard a sigh. She turned to see Trent with his head in his hands. She watched as the others were leaving, and felt it best to stay so she slid down the wall next to him. The two sat in silence as the only sound they heard was the ticking of the clock on a nearby wall.

"I don't know anymore" Trent sighed breaking the silence.

"What don't you know anymore" AmyLee asked as she looked at the blonde as he ran his hands down his face.

"Sometimes I feel like I do like him, but then there are times when I just like being his friend" Trent admitted. "It's just so confusing because I thought the same thing about a few others here at school."

"Like who?" AmyLee asked as she hoped that this was the correct way to take the conversation.

"I don't think I'm comfortable enough telling you that" Trent chuckled softly as he shook his head. "Do you think there's something wrong with me?" AmyLee turned to face Trent as she saw a pained look spread across his face.

"I think there is a lot wrong with you to be honest," AmyLee started as she shook her head," but I don't think there is anything wrong with how you are feeling." Trent leaned over and rested his head on her shoulder making AmyLee tense up. Human contact like this was foreign to her and she was started to get a little uncomfortable.

"I don't know if you're saying that just to make me feel better, or if you are actually being serious" Trent said as he felt himself start to get a little heavy.

"Believe what you will, but you will never find someone who is blunter than me" AmyLee said as she tried to push Trent off of her, but failed epically as the bully started to get heavier. "Don't you dare fall asleep on me" AmyLee growled out as Trent sat back up and giggled.

"What do you think I should do?" Trent asked as he looked at the doors expecting someone to walk in and see him as he was.

"I think you should check yourself to make sure you still have a set of balls" AmyLee suggested.

"I meant about the situation you bitch" Trent said to her.

"I guess you could ask one of these guys you like on a date. It doesn't have to be Devin if you don't want it to be" AmyLee suggested again as she shrugged. She wasn't really sure what to tell the kid. She had never felt anything towards anyone like this. She looked over at Trent and saw a small smile start to appear on his face.

"That sounds like a good idea" Trent said as he got up and offered a hand to AmyLee. She grabbed it and allowed Trent to help her up as she brushed herself off.

"Come on fugly" AmyLee said as she started to head towards the door. "We have dinner to get ready for and I can't really take all these feelings and shit. I think I'm starting to break out in a rash from it." Trent just started to laugh as he followed her out to go and get ready for dinner. As they walked Trent thought about what AmyLee had said and figured he should definitely try and take someone on a date. As the two broke away towards their respected dorms, Trent thanked AmyLee one more time before going inside to change.

Devin had already left for work and started busting table. He hadn't seen Duncan yet so he figured the poor kid was running late. He was starting to clear another table when he felt a set of arms wrap around him. He wanted to jump back but couldn't with a bucket full of dirty dishes.

"You smell nice" came the familiar voice of Rose as he felt a set of hands trying to pry her off him.

"I haven't quite house broken her yet" AmyLee said as she struggled to break Rose's grip around Devin.

"Remind me to get you a leash for her for Christmas" Devin suggested as he started to laugh. Once AmyLee had Rose de-attached from Devin, he turned around to see the rest of the group started to file in. He saw Kirby, who immediately tried to look everywhere in the room but him. It upset him a little, but he didn't let it bother him. AmyLee dragged Rose with her to the back with the others as Rose fought her thinking that AmyLee was trying to play around with her. Devin didn't know how AmyLee had not killed that poor girl yet. He shook his head and laughed as he finished clearing the table and made his way to the back of the restaurant.

"I see you're already getting into the swing of this" came a cheery voice that Devin recognized.

"Nice to see you're finally here Duncan" Devin said as he started to separate the dishes.

"Hey, you did say that you would clear extra tables tonight" Duncan said as he threw his hands up in defense.

"I did, didn't I" Devin said as he turned around. The minute that he did he regretted it because Duncan was basically on top of him. Duncan had cupped his hands around Devin's face and aimed it up so the light was shining on the band-aid. Duncan softly ran his hand over it as he asked what happened. Devin winced a little and pulled away, unruffling his apron.

"I beat one of the preps in a boxing match" Devin said as he went back to sorting the dishes. Even though there was barely any in the response, Duncan still picked up on Devin's annoyance.

"Sorry about grabbing you" Duncan said as he started to slip on his apron. He tried to tie his apron in the back but was struggling with it. Devin picked up on it and walked up behind him.

"It's okay" he said as he started to tie the apron. "I just wish everyone would stop worrying about me like I'm some precious toy that can't be broken." As Devin was tying the apron, he made sure to put emphasize on the word broken by pulling hard on the strings.

"I don't think you're some precious toy" Duncan chuckled as he turned to face Devin. "I think you're a good guy with a few tricks up his sleeve. I would've never pictured you to be someone who would want to box. I honestly thought that you weren't there and did that to you. Not that it was done in a match. I bet ya gave the other guy hell though."

Devin started to smile as he got to relive the whole experience again by telling Duncan about it. Duncan listened intently as the two of them waited for the dishes to finish drying. As they were putting them away, Mr. Spair popped his head in the room to let the boys know they had some table to clean up. The waiting staff was underhanded today, so he was helping them out. As they boys continued to work, Devin remembered what AmyLee talked to him about. He decided to get Duncan on the topic of Grottos and Gremlins. The minute the words rolled off his tongue he thought that he could literally see Duncan's ears perk up. The boy started to go on a tangent about the game and how much he liked it. He told Devin about a few of the things that his character had done in the game, and some of the benefits of playing the game in his opinion.

The night went on with the two having interesting conversations about various things. When the last customer left, Duncan and Devin quickly wiped down all of the tables and returned their aprons to the back. The two said their goodbyes and headed off in different directions. Devin smiled as he started to make his way back to the boy's dorm. AmyLee had provided him with some great advice, and he was starting to feel his bonds growing closer with people. He knew Duncan was definitely good with him, and working together was only going to improve their friendship. He wasn't going to hold his breath with Gord though. He didn't think the he could trust the prep as far as he could throw him. While he was heading inside he saw Kirby again, but he was in the living area with Trent so he thought it best to just leave him alone for now. Trent waved to him as he passed, so he waved back and went into his room to get ready for bed.

While he was undressing he heard a faint knock on his door. He finished pulling his shirt over his head before he turned around to see Petey. He smiled and then blushed as he felt a little exposed in just his pants. It wouldn't have been so bad it his room was cold. He decided to cover his hardening nipples as he said hello to Petey.

"Haven't stopped by in a while, so I thought I would come and see how you were doing" Petey said meekly.

"I've been doing pretty good, just trying to get accustom to things around here" Devin replied as he turned back around to find a night shirt.

"I figured" Petey chucked as he sat down on Devin's bed. "Jimmy said he ran into you at the prep's boxing gym. I guess that's why you have that band-aid about your eyebrow."

"Parker got me good" Devin said as he threw on a baggy shirt and slipped off his pants. "But I got him back just as good." Petey smiled when he heard that and the two talked about how each of their classes were going. Petey seemed to be enjoying his classes and was on top of his academics like Devin.

"Well, well, well. If it isn't the two love birds sitting together in their nest" came a venomous voice from the hallway. They both let out a sigh as Gary stepped into the room. "Are we having fun whispering sweet nothings into each other's ears ladies?" he asked with an evil look in his eye.

"Gary, why the fuck are you in my room?" Devin asked as he pinched the brim of his nose and closed his eyes trying to restrain himself from flipping out.

"Figured I could waltz on in here since so many others do. I mean you've had Petey and Trent and Kirby in here. Hell, even Jimmy has been in here. You can't pick and choose just because you like them" Gary replied as he started to pace around Devin's room. Devin felt disgusted that Gary knew all of that. It was as if the boy was keeping tabs on him.

"To set the record straight, I haven't allowed anyone to come into my room except Petey. Jimmy, Trent, and Kirby all let themselves in like you have. Maybe if you weren't such an egotistical asshat, I would actually invite you in."

"Guys I think we should cool down" Petey interjected, but was shut up by Gary.

"Oh, so the runt wants to use big words to try and get to me?" Gary jested as he started to make his way back towards Devin's door. "I'll make sure to remember that when I rule this school!" Gary made sure to put emphasizes on the word 'I' as he pointed to himself. Before Devin could even fire back with a response, Gary was already out of his room and down the hall.

"Fuck that kid" Devin said as he shook his head.

"I used to be okay with dealing with his behavior because Jimmy and him would actually include me in stuff. Now I just get left behind" Petey said with a bit a sadness in his tone.

"You could hang out with me, if you don't mind my friends and the weird shit I get myself into" Devin said as he tried to alleviate the situation for Petey.

"I'll have to think about it" Petey said as he started to get up from Devin's bed.

"If you change your mind, you can join us at my work tomorrow. It'll be Wednesday, so I'll be performing. It'll be fun" Devin offered as he started to lay down. Petey hesitated before leaving the room and heading to his. Devin hopped that he would show up. ' _That boy needs to break away from those guys_ ' Devin thought as he started to drift off to sleep.


End file.
